Konoha's 3 Course Shinobi
by yurei king
Summary: Naruto discovers something the day he summoned Gamabunta. What he finds leads him down a path to become a legend, with a simple choice Naruto is plunged headfirst into a new world with new skills and a power that will make his enemies fall to pieces. Literally.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece or this would be a manga, not a fanfiction. This is the only time I'm stating it because it's pointless to say it every chapter. **

**This has been buzzing in my head for a while and I wrote it up to see how it would go. This is the preview of the story. **

**If ya'll like it then I'll keep it going.**

**So yeah, on with the chapter:**

"**Summoning Jutsu!"**

The shout echoed throughout the chasm as a cloud of smoke erupted from under the outstretched hand of the boy who had shouted them. From this cloud appeared a creature of massive size, its figure obscured by the smoke but the shadow it cast upon the cloud itself was intimidating in itself. Webbed feet shot out from the cloud and slammed into the wall, crushing the rocks sticking out into gravel.

The orange-clad blond that had called the creature forth fell onto a cloth covered back and moved to see what it was. When the smoke cleared the monster in all its glory was exposed. The boy found himself sitting on the back of a _massive _toad with skin colored a rusted red with brighter red stripes. Running vertically down the left side of his face and over the bright yellow eye that sat there, was a deep scar. Clenched between its lips was a kiseru and he wore a blue happy coat. At his waist hung a tanto about fifty times the summoner's height in blade length alone.

"**What the hell is this?" **a deep rumbling voice blasted from the toad. **"Where am I?"**

The boy, the ever infamous Naruto Uzumaki, was frozen in shock. _'I...it worked,' _he thought. _'I actually managed to summon one.'_

Naruto was on the verge of dancing for joy, but the toad had other plans. **"JIRAIYA! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? WHAT IS THE MEENING OF SUMMONING ME HERE?"**

**With the pervert who is currently at the top of the gorge...**

"Crap," said pervert whispered, backing up from the edge and disappearing into the forest behind him. "I never thought he'd summon _him_ of all the toads. You really know how to cause trouble don't yah kid?"

**Back down in the gorge – **

"**Hey gaki," **Naruto jerked to attention for a moment, startled that he was being called out. **"Where's Jiraiya? Why has he summoned me?"**

"Uh..who's Jiraiya?"

"**Do not play dumb with me gaki, where is that infernal brat that so stupidly refers to himself as the Toad Sage?"**

Naruto scratched his head. "Well I don't know his name, but I think you're talking about the Pervy-sage."

The toad's eyes narrowed at the blond's words. **"Oh really? Well I have a few things to discuss with that pervert. He's got a lot of gall to summon me to such a place."**

Naruto frowned. "Actually, I'm the one that summoned you," he said, cutting off the giant amphibian before he could go on a rant. The red skinned beast stared at the orange-clad blond for several moments, then his eyes closed and he began to shake. Thinking something was wrong Naruto was about to speak, only for the toad to burst into roaring laughter.

"**G-good one gaki," **he said. **"I haven't laughed that hard in years! There's no way a scrawny little runt like you could possibly the chief of the toads. You'd die from chakra exhaustion."**

Naruto scowled and was about to give a rather rude comment on his part, but a little voice in his head interrupted him. _**'Say what you're thinking and I'll make your life hell.' **_

_'Kyuubi?' _the blond asked.

_**'No it's the **_**other ****_voice in your head, _OF COURSE IT'S ME YOU MORON!'**

_'What do you want?'_

_**'You're not even gonna asked how I pulled this off?'**_

_'Nah, figured you'd get all high and mighty and brag about it anyway.'_

_**'…...'**_

_'I was right wasn't I?'_

_**'Shut up, and I used the pulse of my chakra to forge a connection between our minds. Now on to more important matters...do not insult this guy. Do you know who you're standing on right now?'**_

_'No.'_

_**'I figured. Listen, that is Gamabunta, chief of the Toad Tribe. He was capable of temporarily immobilizing me during my attack on your village. This is the most powerful of the toads you can summon and it'd be a good idea to be polite...keep in mind we're still hanging in a gorge with his help.'**_

_'Good point.' _Naruto sighed and turned his eyes back to the now identified Gamabunta, who was sending him a pretty heated glare for ignoring him. "Look, I'm a special case. Trust me, I've got the chakra to summon you, my name's Naruto Uzumaki and it's nice to meet you Toad Boss Gamabunta."

"**So Jiraiya told you about me," **the toad mused, only for Naruto to shake his head.

"No, I heard from a different source," he answered, subconsciously rubbing the area where his seal was. Gamabunta's eyes narrowed at the motion.

"**You said your name was Naruto _Uzumaki_? Interesting, so I'm guessing that pervert had you sign our contract. Well, just because you summoned me doesn't mean you're clear to call us out whenever you want."**

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, sitting down on the toad's nose.

"**I have to test whether or not your worth our time. If not then I'll take your name off the contract."**

"Whats the test?"

"**You have to stay on top of my head until sunset. Now hold on, I'll take us up to the top so we can start."**

Naruto nodded and jumped up to hold onto the collar of Gamabunta's jacket. The boss toad grunted as he bunched up the muscles in his powerful legs. It was then that Naruto looked down and something caught his eye. "Hey, boss."

"**What is it?"**

"There's something down there."

"**Where?"**

"At the bottom, look down you should be able to see something, it looks like some sort of building."

Listening to his summoner's request the giant amphibian looked down and saw something he could not, for the life of him, understand how it had gotten there. **"Why on earth would a brig sloop be here," **he muttered. **'**_**This could be interesting,' **_he thought. **"Gaki. Hold on, we'll be postponing our test until later. We should check this out."**

"What do yo-" Naruto started to ask but ended up screaming when Gamabunta let go of the walls and sent them crashing into the ground. "WHAT THE HELL CHIEF?"

"**Calm down, don't get your underwear in a bind," **he growled. **"This might be interesting to see what's inside that thing. Listen gaki, I'm obviously too small to get in there so you have to hop down. I'll stay here but since it's better to have a bit of backup, so I want you to try to summon another of my kin."**

"I thought you had to test me first.:

"**At least you have some sense of honor for a bargain," **Gamabunta chuckled, he was starting to like this blond brat. **"Think you got enough chakra left to summon another toad?"**

_'Kyuubi?'_

_**'I'll give you a little more,' **_the fox grumbled. **_'Just be sure to give that stupid sage a kick to the nuts after we're done.'_**

Naruto just chuckled as he felt the demon's powerful chakra course through him once again. _'I was planning to do that anyway.' _"I think I can pull off another one."

"**Good, perform the jutsu, but when you call out it's name, also call out the name Gama. He's a little larger than you and handy at taijutsu."**

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb. He waited a moment for the blood to well up on the tip of the appendage before beginning the short chain of handsigns and slamming his palm onto the top of Gamabunta's head. **"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Gama!"**

A familiar burst of smoke later and Naruto found himself sitting on top of the very first toad he had ever seen the Pervy-sage summon when he knocked out that closest pervert Kakashi had asked to train him.

"**Greetings Naruto-san," **the toad said cheerfully. **"How can I help you?"**

"**Spare the small talk for later Gama," **the chief toad grumbled. **"Go with the gaki and keep an eye on him while he's taking a look at this little boat."**

Gama nodded and turned to the human that had summoned him. **"Naruto-san, climb onto my back. I can jump to the deck of the ship quite easily from here."**

Naruto smiled but shook his head. "Sorry Gama, but I'm not an official toad summoner yet. The chief got curious about this before he could test me so we haven't gotten that far. I think I can ride on top of any toad, I should pass the test first."

The two amphibians were stunned at the blond's words. To take the difficult route simply over a formality like the test is something they hadn't seen in a long time. _**'This kid gets more interesting the longer you're around him,' **_Gamabunta thought to himself. **"Alright gaki, since you're so bent on sticking to the guidelines I'll make you a road to the ship."**

The giant toad opened his mouth and out shot a long pink tongue that stretched all the way to from his mouth to the deck of the ship. "Thanks Chief Toad," the blond said, jumping on top of the pink muscle and running down it as fast as he could, Gama right beside him. They reached the deck in seconds and Gamabunta withdrew his tongue. **"You two be careful, I'll wait out here until you come back out. Be quick about it."**

The two nodded before walking to the door leading to the lower decks. Naruto placed a hand on Gama's shoulder to stop him. "Wait a sec, for all we know this thing could be booby-trapped."

"**You're actually pretty smart Naruto-san," **the toad mused.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Actually, the things is I've been pranking for years so I kind of got paranoid about traps. With everything I pulled back then it's probably expected."

Gama shrugged, experience is one of the best teachers as the saying goes but he put it out of his mind and turned his thoughts to more relevant matters. **"Then how do you propose we go about this?"**

Naruto grinned and made the sign of his personal (and almost his only) technique. **"Kage Bunshin no ****Jutsu!"** Five poofs of smoke later and there stood six orange-clad blonds in place of the original one. One stepped back and addressed his creations. "Alright guys, you know what to do."

The clones nodded and stepped up to the door while the original and Gama stepped back. One clone grabbed the handle and pulled, only for the entire door to come off its hinges and almost crush it, only for the others to save it from an early demise. The thick slab of wood was tossed aside and the clones filed in one at a time, leaving Naruto and Gama at the doorway.

"**Naruto-san, what is the plan?"**

"I made the clones with the idea that each one will pick a deck and explore, if there aren't five decks then they'd just help on another one. Then they can come back and tell us what they found."

_**'Tell us? Does he not know about the advantage of the Kage Bunshin?' **_both Gama and the chief toad, who had been listening in, wondered.

"Well, we better relax while we can," Naruto said, sitting down on the deck of the ship and leaning against the wall. With a satisfied sigh he turned his gaze to sky, so far above them now. The sun was shining down into the gorge, but they were so far down that all they saw was a dim glow, making it look like early morning.

It was quiet in the gorge, only the sound of Gamabunta's heavy breathing broke the silence that had begun to lull our blond hero into a state of content. Soon his eyes gre w heavy and he begun to slump over...only to snap awake and jump to his feet when an image of a large room appeared in his mind. _'What was that?' _he asked, directing the question to his tenant.

_**'That, my young idiot of a host, was the memories of your bunshin coming back to you after dispelling.'**_

_'Wait what?'_

The Kyuubi heaved a heavy sigh at his host's stupidity. _**'The memories of a Kage Bunshin return to their creator when the dispel. The reason you've failed to notice this little bit of information is because you use them in battle to become a one-man army so you integrate only little pieces of knowledge before they're dispelled and you're constantly having to change your position anyway so it's pointless to use like that.'**_

_'…...Oh.'_

_**'Just shut up, your clone found something and then tripped because it wasn't paying attention. I know what route it was so get your butt moving and I'll guide you down there ok?'**_

Naruto just nodded before turning to the toad at his side. "One of my clones found something interesting, I think we should take a look."

"**Do you know the way?" **Gama asked.

Naruto smirked and poked his temple with his left hand. "Got the route right here."

_**'No thanks to any effort on your half by the way.'**_

_'Shut up.'_

_**'Make me.'**_

Naruto just sighed and stepped through the doorway into the hull of the ship. At the bottom of the steps he turned left then down another flight of steps. This happened twice more before the fox told him to take a right and then left again. When he turned the final corner, he found himself staring into a dark room. Cracks in the wall allowed a minimal light to pass through, revealing the outlines of nine tables inside.

Naruto was moved to step inside, but stopped when Gama held an arm out in front of him, baring passage through the doorway. **"Wait, Naruto-san. It's too dark." **The toad turned around and picked up a large piece of wood and a piece of torn fabric, most likely a piece of sail canvas. He wrapped the canvas around one end of the block and stuck it in his mouth. When he drew it back out the canvas was stained with a black liquid. **"By any chance, do you have something to make a fire," **he asked his companion, who simply nodded and pulled out a small sealing scroll, from which he took some flint and steel. **"Good, light this please."**

In moments, Gama was holding a flaming torch that cast a harsh orange light and illuminated the room. Now able to see clearly, the duo stepped forward. They discovered the nine tables they had seen earlier were set like a clock face around a lone podium standing in the center. Atop this podium sat a leather-bound book with the symbol of a straw hat embroidered onto the front.

Naruto glanced at his companion and pointed at the book. The amphibian nodded and they both cautiously stepped closer. The blond's fingertips brushed against the worn leather of the cover, he could practically feel the care of the person who had owned it, even after so long and under a thick coating of dust the boy could tell the binding was in good condition. Well oiled and flexible.

Finished admiring he opened the book to find a mostly blank page, save for some writing in the very middle.

'_Property of Nami, Cat Burglar and Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates'_

The blond gasped. Pirates, so far inland and he'd found a ship that belonged to pirates...how cool was that? He excitedly turned the next page and began to read, out loud of course for the benefit of Gama.

_ 'If you are reading this then it means somebody finally found our last treasure. Well, congrats whoever you are because you now own everything here. There's a document in the book, sign it and everything should legally belong to you, now I already wrote my name on the first page but I'm Nami, the greatest cat burglar in all of the Grand Line and wife to the Pirate King, Straw-hat Luffy._

_ Inside this room you should find nine tables, eight of these hold the most treasured possessions of our crew, you can use them or give them away, whatever you wish. However, the ninth table only has a small chest and a book. This one is meant for the founder of this book alone. My dear, scatterbrained husband told me that only someone with the will to be the greatest and a pure heart could find our ship. (He said it had to do with the Will of the Pirate King or something like that, I have no idea but I think it's explained in his scroll, hope you can read it)_

_ This last item is a piece of fruit, but it's a very special fruit. This fruit will never spoil and, should it be eaten, bestow incredible power upon the devourer of this fruit. There is a weakness, you will lose the ability to swim and water will leave you weak and barely able to mover. This particular fruit was used by a friend of ours who helped us in a time of need. He has written the instructions on how to use the abilities of the fruit, which he said was called the Ope Ope no Mi, in that book so be sure to study that thing._

_ Well, that's all for this note, the rest of this book is my log of the adventures our crew went on together so be sure to read that, especially if you need a good laugh cuz we went absolutely _nuts _a few __times._

_Take care and use our legacy well,_

_Nami.'_

Naruto paused at the sound of sniffling behind him. He turned to find Gama wiping a tear from his eye. **"Forgive me Naruto-san," **the toad said. **"I was just moved by the woman's written words. To hold so much trust in the future to leave such treasures behind, it is truly inspirational."**

_**'Oh Kami give me a break,' **_Naruto heard the Kyuubi say inside his mind. _**'This frog is actually crying like he just watched a soap opera!'**_

_'A what?'_

_**'Never mind kit. Trust me, you don't want to know.' **_The fox let felt an involuntary shiver go down his spine at the memory of how sickeningly emotional those programs could be. It made him want to vomit.

Naruto just assured his companion it was okay to find such words moving and then turned the page to find the will this person Nami had mentioned.

_Whosoever finds this...the ship and all our stuff is yours so sign on the line at the bottom and it's done._

The blond sweatdropped at the blunt wording of the letter. "Well, it's something." He pulled out an ink pot and a brush and wrote his name on the line labeled _'Benefactor'_.

"**Congratulations on obtaining your new property Naruto-san," **Gama said. **"Might I suggest your first matter of business be to decide what to do with that fruit the lady mentioned in the note?"**

Naruto nodded and looked to the table directly to his right. Just like it said in Nami's note, the table was only burdened with a small chest and a book next to it. They, like the room, were mysteriously free of dust or cobwebs and the cloth covering the table was pristine and looked like it had just been put there.

Deciding to read the book first, Naruto grabbed the leather-bound tome and opened its yellowed pages to find yet another note, this one in neat handwriting like the writer was some sort of sophisticated individual.

_ 'To the individual who discovers this ship and the contents therein, congratulations. I am Trafalgar Law, captain and surgeon of the Heart Pirates._

_ By now you must have read Nami's note and signed her little document so you are the newest owner of the Thousand Sunny and the contents of this room. Within this room lies the most valued treasures of one of the greatest crews to ever sail the Grand Line and beyond. Some have also left their teachings behind in hopes that one day someone will come along and seek to follow their path in life. I am one such person._

_ In the small chest beside this book you will find a small, odd looking fruit. This fruit is called the Ope Ope no Mi and if Nami included the last bit I asked her to then you know about the weakness involved with eating such a fruit. Well, let me tell you the powers of this fruit. _

_ When someone eats the Ope Ope no Mi, it allows its user to create a spherical space or "room", where the user has complete control over the placement and orientation of the objects inside, thus making them a Kaizō Jizai Ningen (Free Modification Human). _

_ In case you are more like my friend Luffy, a simple way to put this would be to say that the space you create is like an operating room, and you are the surgeon. In essence, you can control everything in that space. You'll understand more as you practice, should you choose to eat it. _

_Well, I have little else to say. Should you choose to take the powers of the Ope Ope no Mi then be sure to read the rest of this book. If you do not, please burn this book and destroy the fruit, it must not fall into the wrong hands._

_Good luck to you in whatever path you choose,_

_Trafalgar Law._

When Naruto finished the note, his gaze turned to the small chest next to the book. Driven by curiosity, the blond placed his hand on the lid. He hesitated there, slightly nervous over what he would see, finally, he carefully moved the latch with his thumb and lifted the lid.

Placed on a cushion of red velvet was a pale blue fruit that resembled a grape fruit. From the base of the stem, a single swirl was etched into the skin of the fruit and wound its way down to the tip at the bottom.

"**What will you do Naruto-san?" **Gama asked, eyes focused on the fruit and his summoner. **"Will you eat it?"**

"Well," Naruto said. "I can walk on water with my chakra so I'm not too worried about the weakness...I'm just wondering what will happen."

"**This...Law fellow claims you will become extremely powerful with this fruit. Do you not desire strength?"**

"I want to be strong, but isn't this just depending on something else for that strength?"

"**Naruto-san, that only is true if you truly become dependent upon the power this fruit will give you. The same, however, can be said for an Uchiha who uses only his Sharingan and does not learn to fight without it." **Naruto frowned, crossing his arms as he thought about the amphibian's words. Seeing he was getting to the boy Gama pressed his line of thinking. **"Consider as well Naruto-san, this room is filled with knowledge and teachings that have been lost to the passage of time. You have a chance to not only master these teachings...you have a chance to start a legacy of your own."**

Silence fell upon the room as Naruto pondered Gama's words. Now, Naruto had the reputation of being quite slow when it came to matters of the mind which, at least when it came to school work and the like, was true. This did not, however, apply to when applied to things such as this. Naruto possessed a mind that was quick to come up with strategies at the drop of a hat in the middle of the a battle. Now, Naruto's quick mind was forced to slow down and consider the ramifications of the actions he would take that day.

After many minutes, the blond nodded to himself and opened eyes shining with determination. His hand snapped out and grabbed the fruit and lifted it until it was right in front of his eyes. _'Here goes nothing,' _he thought before opening his mouth and sinking his teeth into the flesh of the Ope Ope no Mi.

The moment the juice hit his taste buds Naruto was forced to fight back his gag reflex. _'It tastes like crap,' _he mentally complained to his tenant.

_**'Suck it up you wuss,' **_was the uncaring response.

_'Asshole.'_

_**'Love you too.'**_

Naruto grimaced against the taste but forced himself to swallow every last bit of the fruit until it was completely gone. Once he swallowed the last morsel, he gasped as a tingling feeling spread from his stomach and filled his body with pins and needles. It faded away in seconds and the boy stared at his hands.

"**GAKI! What's taking so long?" **The voice of the chief toad shook the whole ship. Naruto jumped and pulled out two empty sealing scrolls. Without a moments thought he sealed the contents of the room into the scrolls, each table went into a different spot on the scroll in order to keep it organized. Once the room was empty, shinobi and summon returned to the deck to find Gamabunta glaring at them. **"It's about time. We've got around three hours until the sun goes down gaki, if you want to do our test today then we best get up to the top."**

Naruto nodded and jumped up to the top of the chief's head, Gama waved to the genin, bowed to his chief and returned to the home of the toads. Gamabunta crouched down, preparing to jump up. **"So, what'd you find?"**

"I'll tell you when we're done."

The toad chuckled. **"Well then, we'd best get started!" **With a tremendous burst of strength, the chief sent them both hurtling to the top of the gorge, easily clearing the top and crushing quite a few trees in the process of landing. **"Remember gaki, you got'a stay on top of my head till the the sun goes down or you won't be our summoner."**

"I got it, now BRING IT!"

"**AS YOU WISH!"**

**TIMESKIP:(YOU ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENS SO WHY BOTHER WHEN IT'S BEEN DONE SO MANY TIMES)**

"So chief," Jiraiya said, now sitting on top of a large ridge next to the slumbering form of his new apprentice with a saucer of sake in his hand. "What do you think?"

Just in front of him sat Gamabunta, sipping from a sake cup of his own. The chief toad grinned, glancing to the boy for a moment. **"He is a worthy summoner, just like his father was. Now what about what Gama said?"**

Jiraiya had summoned Gama only a few minutes before to hear about what had happened inside the ship at the bottom of the gorge. It was safe to say that the man was intrigued.

"Well, I'll have to take a look at this stuff, I'll take care of that when the kid wakes up. The first month is almost over so the boy has thirty days left before the exams."

"**A sixty day period? That's odd."**

"Yeah, apparently the fighters are from all over so it's taking a little longer than usual for the guests of honor to arrive. A notice was sent out about a week ago saying the waiting time had been doubled."

"**Just means you got more time to get some training done," **Gamabunta said, taking another sip from his cup. **"Well, I had best return, have the boy summon my two sons. They could do good with a little time in the human world."**

"I will, see you soon old friend."

"**Be well Jiraiya, and drop by the mountain some time. Ma and Pa would love to have you over for dinner again some time."**

The chief toad disappeared in an explosion of smoke, leaving only his footprints and the destroyed landscape as the only evidence he was ever there. Jiraiya finished his saucer of sake and picked up his new apprentice. "I guess I better set up a tent," he mumbled. "Sleep well Naruto, because as soon as your awake tomorrow we start the serious training."

**AND CUT!**

**Alright, new fanfic for my loyal fans. Who's skills will Naruto learn? What will he become? Why am I asking you?**

**Oh, this will be a harem fic, and the harem has already been decided so don't bother asking, my others are up for debate but this one is set in stone.**

**I'll be posting a preview to a new story very soon and then I'll update Half-Ghost Kitsune and The Four Ride Again in that order.**

**Until then, yurei king signing out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**When we last left our blond hero, he had discovered a mysterious vessel at the bottom of a gorge and, with the help of toad summon named Gama, explored the wreckage and found a room full of mysterious objects. After certain events in the room Naruto sealed the items away and left to complete his original task, the test with Chief Gamabunta.**

**Now a week has passed since that fateful day...shall we see what's going on?**

Naruto grunted as he raised his right leg for a straight kick at the post in front of him. He had been training in strength and endurance for several hours now and had worn a decently sized dent into the posts surface. He had changed his attire during the last week, more like Jiraiya and the fox, who finally told him his actual name, had strong-armed him into wearing something new. The blond was now shirtless and wore only a pair of black cargo pants secured with a leather belt and combat boots like he'd seen that proctor from the first exam wearing.

That pervert of a sage had gone to the village and bought the clothes and then showed the kid an extra surprise. In addition to the new clothes, Naruto now wore leg weights, weighted arm guards and a weighted harness on his torso.

_'Man, this is exhausting,' _Naruto thought as he lifted his leg for yet another kick.

_**'Stop complaining kit. You know it's worth the effort.'**_

_'The only reason I've gotten this far is because you keep healing my muscles so fast.'_

_**'Hey, you use what you got to get stronger. The stronger you get, the better record I get because they'll think I'm the reason you're so strong.'**_

_'Well you definitely help, it would take months to reach the level needed to do the things Sanji said Black Leg is capable of.'_

_**'Just remember to keep eating that meat, I need proteins to rebuild your muscles or you'll just keep tearing your muscles up.'**_

Naruto sighed and went back to his training. His thoughts turned back to when Jiraiya decided to take his training seriously, and how everything had changed since then.

**Flashback:**

After he had woken up the morning after his test with Gamabunta, it was to find Jiraiya sitting next to him, reading the journal the boy had found next to the Ope Ope no Mi. Naruto tried to sit up, grunting as he forced stiff muscles to act.

"Gama told me you ate that fruit," the sage said, not looking up from his reading. "I'm guessing you actually thought through the consequences so I'm not going to lecture you. You probably wouldn't listen anyway."

Naruto chuckled as he finally managed to stand and stretch his sore body. "You're starting to notice," he said, voice strained as he bent backwards to pop his back.

Jiraiya offered a chuckle of his own as he closed the book and stood as well. "I took a look at this and a few of the other things in those scrolls. I found some stuff that will be good for you to learn." He pointed to Naruto's right, and the boy looked to see three books and three swords next to a nearby tree.

"I found a unique style of kenjutsu named Santoryu. It uses three swords, one each hand and one in your mouth and from the little bit I read...it's very dangerous. There's also a special taijutsu style called Black Leg. These two on top of this Ope Ope no Mi seemed to be the best ones there. Two of those books are about those styles."

"Then what's the third one?"

"It's a book on human and animal anatomy. It was with a few other medical books in the scroll but I left this one out because of what the Trafalgar Law guy wrote about your...Akuma no Mi, you're gonna need some knowledge on how the body is put together."

"So that means I got a lot of work to do," Naruto said, frowning as he tried to think of a way of learning it all. "Hey Ero-sennin, if I use the **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, **will I learn faster?"

"Finally figured that bit out huh? Don't give me that look, you think I'm gonna hand you everything like that Sasuke kid you keep ranting about? You have to do some things on your own Naruto." The sage suppressed the urge to chuckle as his little pupil grumbled to himself. "And yes, the kage bunshin have a unique ability of sending all of their memories back to jutsu's caster. This made them the ideal use for recon, but you're the only one who can bring out the true potential of the jutsu."

"Why me?"

"Because the castor of the jutsu splits his chakra evenly among the bunshin. You're the only one with the reserves large enough to become a literal one-man army. But you have to be careful, if you overload your brain it could put you in a coma or possibly even kill you."

Naruto shivered at that mental image, but shook it off. "So am I learning anything else during the next month?"

Jiraiya's smile suddenly made Naruto _very _nervous. "Gaki, by the time we're done with this month you're gonna be able to wipe the floor with any of those genin taking the exams."

**Flashback End:**

Thus the training had begun. Every morning Jiraiya would make Naruto up at the crack of dawn and create three hundred clones while the sage himself created five clones who proceeded to split the army of blonds into five groups. First there were two groups numbering one-hundred each. Each group would begin working on Santoryu and Black Leg. Of the last hundred, fifty were taken to work on chakra control ranging from the kunai balancing to water walking, and the remaining fifty split into two groups of twenty-five. One would start working on the **Kawarimi no Jutsu **he had learned in the academy, when asked why the sage had told them that the basics always remained the most important. The final remaining twenty-five would work on calligraphy, which Jiraiya had explained was the first step toward learning fuinjutsu.

"**Hey Naruto," **a voice called out and Naruto looked to his right to see a small toad sitting on the banks of a nearby creek. The toad had orange skin with purple markings around his eyes, mouth and on his stomach and wearing a blue jacket. **"I think someone's coming."**

"Can you smell them Gamakichi?" the genin asked.

The toad nodded. **"Yeah, and they don't smell like Jiraiya. I think it's a girl."**

"How far are they?"

Gamakichi stuck his nose in the air and sniffed. **"The scent is getting stronger pretty quick so she could be here any minute."**

Naruto frowned before making a new clone. "All clones dispel in groups of ten every ten seconds," he instructed. The clone nodded and made the sign for the very jutsu that created it, causing it to dispel and send the instructions to the rest of the clones. In moments the sound of clones expiring were heard as Naruto closed his eyes and braced for the onslaught of information from his personal army.

Jiraiya's clones looked to the original for an explanation, who passed on what the toad had told him and then dispelled themselves to notify the original save for one that disappeared into the trees to watch in case the boy required assistance before the sage could get there.

Not even a minute after the last clone had dispelled, a young girl came running out of the tree line, panting heavily and looking over her shoulder. Naruto was too startled by the girl's behavior to react in time and she was too distracted to see him and ended up colliding with him and sending them both to the ground.

The girl screamed as they fell and Naruto barely managed to keep them from ending up in a compromising situation turning while falling. He wrapped an arm around her waist and forced his body to turn, stopping the fall with one hand and gently placing her on the ground before sitting down next to her.

The girl had bright red hair with an interesting style, slightly spiked and unkempt looking on her right side while her left side was longer a smooth. Her red eyes stared at him from behind a pair of oval-shaped glasses as she tried to calm her breathing down.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked the quivering girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl reacted instantly, throwing herself forward and latching her arms around his waist.

"P-please...help me," she pleaded, stuttering out the words between gasps. "H-hide me please."

"**Naruto, someone else is coming," **Gamakichi called out, getting his summoner's attention. **"I think they're chasing that girl!"**

Naruto cursed, he was in no shape to fight after training all day...how was he supposed to help this girl. As he looked around, trying to think of what he could do, his gaze fell on the creek, and his lips curled into a grin as he remembered a particular toad Jiraiya had told him about.

Not wasting any time on second guessing himself, Naruto bit his thumb, performed the required signs and slammed his hand into the ground. **"Kuchiyose: Gamagakure no Jutsu!" **The now familiar summoning seals spread out from under Naruto's hand followed by the usual small explosion of smoke. When it cleared, a small green toad was standing in its place.

"I need you to hide this girl and me and stay in the creek until Ero-sennin gets back," Naruto explained to the toad. The toad nodded and opened its mouth for the boy. Naruto picked up the still-shivering girl and reached one hand into the toad's open mouth.

The second his skin brushed against the flesh of the toad's mouth, he felt his entire body stretch and compress as the world seemed to grow larger around him. He could hear the girl scream and cursed his lack of foresight and forgot to tell her what was happening. In moments the sensation was gone and Naruto and the mysterious girl found themselves surrounded by walls of pink flesh.

"It's okay," he whispered to the girl, who was clinging to him like a drowning person would grip a lifeline. "No one can find us here, Ero-sennin will be here soon, until then we'll just stay here."

The girl's shakes slowly eased as she managed to get her breathing under control, but she never let go of Naruto, who eventually got tired standing so he sat down while still holding her bridal style. When she finally grew still, Naruto thought it was time to get a few answers.

"What's your name?"

The girl was silent for so long he started to think she was asleep and was about to try and do the same when he heard her answer in a soft whisper. "Karin."

"Who was chasing you?" Karin shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes. "Why were they chasing you?" Again she simply shook her head.

Naruto grumbled and was about to ask something else when he felt a familiar stretching sensation. "Looks like he finally made it," he whispered and in seconds he and Karin were outside again, sitting at the feet of none other than Jiraiya, who looked more serious than Naruto ever remembered seeing him before.

"There's nobody here," he said. "Gamakichi was keeping his nose out for anything and he says they left. What's going on Naruto?"

"I don't know Jiraiya-sensei," Naruto said, all joking aside. "She won't tell me anything but her name, Karin."

The sage sighed. "Well we can't just send her away if she's being pursued but with the way things are I can't take her to the old man without something to tell him. Give her to me, I'll take her to my house, it's covered in security seals and hidden pretty well."

Naruto nodded and tried to hand her over, but she refused to let him go. "You need to go with him," the blond whispered in her ear. "Trust me, he can keep you a lot safer than I can. I promise I'll come see you soon okay?"

The girl held on for a moment longer, before finally nodding and letting go. Jiraiya slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and looked back to his pupil. "Get back to your training, I've got a really bad feeling about all this."

Naruto nodded, face set in a scowl. He was getting a bad feeling too. Jiraiya disappeared with the puff of smoke and Naruto re-spawned his army of doppelgangers and they returned to their training. The original decided it was time to practice a different skill and held his hand out in front of him, palm to the sky. A moment's concentration later and the air above his palm began to become distorted. In the time it took to blink an eye a sphere of spinning air was sitting in the palm of Naruto's outstretched hand.

The blond stood unmoving for a brief span of time, and then with a single word he cast his spell. **"Room." **With that single command the sphere exploded outward until it reached a diameter of thirty meters. "It's still only this big," he muttered to himself. "I need to be able to cover an entire battlefield."

_**'Then quick talking about it and get to training,' **_Naruto's ever-present companion stated his advice.

_'What do you think I'm doing fuzz-butt?'_

_**'I will kill you. Slowly. Painfully. I'm talking all kinds of pain and suffering and it will last a very long time.'**_

_'Touch me and I'll make you suffer the genjutsu Bushy Brows and his sensei can create.'_

_**'You wouldn't!'**_

_'Try me.'_

The fox didn't rise to the challenge, knowing full well his warden was more than capable of making good on that threat. Gracefully accepting his victory, Naruto turned his attention back to his training, only one thought on his mind. "I'll show them all what I'm capable of."

**AND CUT!**

**Just kidding...TIMESKIP – Five Days Later:**

"297...298...299...300!" Naruto was once more training in his clearing, having just completed the first half of just one of his many strength and stamina exercises. "Well that's the left hand done," he said, switching from his standing on his left hand (and only his left hand) to his right hand. "One more to go."

The blond shinobi had made quite a bit of progress in only five days. The number of clones he used to train had doubled and a few more tasks had been handed out to the horde of copies. Two-hundred clones practiced in Santoryu, another two-hundred in Black Leg. One-hundred clones were in an all out battle royale on the surface of the creek, practicing instinctual chakra control. Fifty clones practiced throwing kunai and shuriken. The twenty-five clones working on calligraphy had moved on to working on drawing the more advanced versions of the storage seal and the last twenty-five were practicing stealth and recon tactics to make better use of their memory transfer abilities.

Jiraiya had also decided to step up Naruto's strength training as well. Gone were the weights, in their place were gravity and resistance seals. Gravity seals on the soles of his boots, he now wore bandages on his hands and forearms like Rock Lee with gravity seals drawn on them by the hermit himself. Another new addition to the blond's training attire was the straw hat hanging around his neck by a length of chord and his headband now wrapped around his bicep. He still chose to go shirtless while training so Jiraiya let him keep the armored vest and just inscribed the gravity seals onto it as well.

The resistance seals were disguised as tattoos of black bands around his wrists and ankles, hidden by his clothes and bandages.

Unknown to Naruto, he was performing for a hidden audience. Hidden in a nearby tree, a young girl, appearing to be around the same age as him, was watching him with undivided attention. The girl had white hair, falling down unhindered to just past her shoulders and framing a face with white skin, red eyes and small smile allowing a glimpse of pointed teeth. She was dressed in a zipped-up blue flak jacket with just enough left open at the top to grant a glimpse of decent growth in the chest area, black, Anbu-style pants taped at the ankles and black shinobi sandals. A leather strap was wrapped from her right shoulder to her left hip, where it joined with a strap wrapped around her waist and a harness on her back, where a large sword rested. (Think Kubikiribocho but slimmer and without the whole near the tip.) Sewn onto this strap was a metal plate bearing the symbol of Kirigakure.

She watched avidly while Naruto continued his routine. When he finished with his vertical push-ups, he moved on to pull-ups on a near by branch and then crunches (200 of each.) All the while the girl could not bring herself to look away from the warrior she had found by chance.

A trickle of blood dripped from her nose that she subconsciously wiped away, barely blinking. The trickle turned into a river when the boy finished and decided to take a quick swim...in his boxers.

Her small smile changed into a playful smirk when an irresistible urge to mess with the boy struck her as he sunk below the surface of the creek. Without a sound she dropped to the ground and stepped out into the clearing with a sway to her hips that grabbed the attention of every clone in the area, forcing all them to freeze and quite a few to dispel when the fell into the creek or fall from their perches in the trees.

Alerted by the clones Naruto surfaced to find her standing next to the creek bed, hands resting on her hips and that smirk still there. _'What is it with the women just popping up,' _Naruto idly thought as he stepped out toward his clothes, ignoring her blatant stare at his buttocks and pulling his pants back on.

"Enjoy the show?" He said, returning her smirk with his own.

"Very much so," she said. "I just wish I could have gotten a recording so I could save it for later...Uzumaki-kun."

Naruto's eyebrow rose. "Have we met?"

"Not really, but we saw each other at the preliminaries. I'm Suigetsu."

Naruto thought back to the preliminaries, searching his memories for the girl. "Wait...you're the girl who against Dosu and Choji in a free-for-fall aren't you?"

Naruto remembered that fight well. Choji had gone full blast from the start, using his families jutsu hoping to crush his opponents before they had a chance to react. Unfortunately Dosu had been quick to maneuver him into a corner and take him out and Suigetsu had simply placed her sword against his jugular when he went on and on about how he'd so easily beaten the heir to the Akimichi clan.

"Idiot should have been for focused on fighting than giving pretty speeches," Suigetsu muttered before turning her attention back to the present. "Anyway yeah that was me, now can I ask you something?"

"Technically you just did."

"Well I'm gonna ask another, what's with the the clones?"

"Just some training for the third part. Why are you here?"

"Went for a walk to clear my head, found a handsome hunk working out. You look good without that orange eyesore by the way."

"Thanks, you're not that bad looking yourself."

"I try."

Naruto's smirk changed to a playful grin. "Believe me, you do more than try."

_**'That was so corny it ain't even funny.' **_

_'Shut up.'_

_**'Yeah, you gotta pay more attention to that Sanji guy, he had some good pick-up lines.'**_

_'Every single one compared them to food! I can't cook like him yet so it's gonna take a bit.'_

The inner turmoil was interrupted by Suigetsu laughing her ass off. "Y-you don't have much experience with women do you?" she managed to ask while gasping for air.

Naruto shrugged. "Eh, not really. Most the ones I know are fangirls so you don't get much practice."

The smirk returned and next thing he knew, Suigetsu was in his face, pressing their chests together. The sudden pressure made Naruto stumble and he found his hands grabbing her sides to steady himself. The end result was their faces being inches apart and his hands sitting right above her hips. The young swordswoman in training leaned in until her lips were just against his ear. "Maybe I can help you find a little..._experience,_" she whispered before pulling back and putting a few feet between them.

_**'Take her, take her, TAKE HER RIGHT NOW YOU IMPUDENT MORON!'**_

_'SHUT! UP!'_

Naruto searched desperately for a new subject and his gaze fell on the sword on the girl's back. _'Wait...that looks like...' "_Kubikiribocho."

Suigetsu froze. The flirtatious persona disappeared as she was suddenly in Naruto's face again. _"How do you know that name?" _she hissed.

"I-I heard this guy I saw on my first C-ranked mission call his sword that."

"Where is he?" the shark girl demanded.

"He's dead. The guy who hired him had him executed after my sensei wore him down. Guy was stubborn though, killed a whole bunch of the guy's hired thugs and even got him and that was all with just a kunai too."

"Zabuza's dead...wait, if he's dead where is his sword?"

"Why do you want to know so badly? What's it matter to you?" Naruto didn't understand this girl, first she flirts with him and now she looks like she wants to tear his heart out and eat it. Fortunately, all she did was shove him away and ran off, vanishing into the trees while he just watched.

"You sure know how to pick 'em kid." Naruto turned to see Jiraiya standing nearby. "First that girl from Kusagakure and now you got Suigetsu Hozuki after you. You better watch your back around that one."

"Wait, you know her?"

"She was an apprentice to Zabuza Momochi just before he led that rebellion that made him a nuke-nin," the sage answered. "She's famous for being the second coming of the Demon of the Mist and is rumored to enjoy relieving her victims of their limbs before killing them. Sounds like a real charmer."

Naruto could not suppress the deadpan expression on his face as he stared at the pervert. The look was ignored as he continued speaking. "Apparently Zabuza was planning on making her his successor as the wielder of the Kubikiribocho."

That last tidbit of information struck a note in Naruto's brain and an idea worthy of a kitsune came to him. _**'Kit...you're are an absolute genius!'**_

_'Thank you, thank you very much.'_

Naruto summoned two clones who ran off without a word. When Jiraiya gave him a look requesting an explanation all he did was shrug and say, "gonna have to wait until the exams Ero-sennin."

"Just get back to work," he said and walked over to the bushes, pulling out his telescope and giggling as he went.

**TIMESKIP – Two weeks and two days later (two days until the exams):**

In a spartan room, a young kunoichi with golden blonde hair and dark green eyes was fastening the buttons of a black body suit. After that she slipped on a pair of black gloves before donning a light purple, off-shoulder, long-sleeved top and black a black miniskirt and wrapped a scarlet sash around her sash.

The girl gave her reflection in a mirror a once-over before nodding with a small smirk. Turning to the door she found the last pieces to her wardrobe. First was the kunai holster she buckled around her left thigh and the shuriken pouch she fastened to the sash right next to her right hip. Next came her signature weapon, the large battle fan she fastened to her back and finally was a straw conical hat with a brown chinstrap which she let placed on her head before stepping out of the room and ending up face-to-face with her brother/teammate.

"Going out for a storm flight big sis?" he asked, a rare smile on his face.

The blonde nodded. "It's still the only exercise I haven't mastered yet Kankuro," she said. "This is a perfect chance to see if I can."

"I know Temari, just be careful. It's too close to the deadline for you to get injured."

Temari's soft smile changed to a scowl. She still didn't agree with what her village was planning, no matter how much or how passionately Baki-sensei preached about how it was their only choice. This was going back on the word given from one village to another to help each other through all battles. It just didn't sit right with her.

Shaking off the unease Temari smiled once more and placed a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "Don't worry about me, I'll be careful."

Kankuro nodded and walked to his room for a little extra sleep. His sister may like training during a storm but he preferred staying indoors whenever the weather was rough. Temari slipped out the door of their apartment and quietly made her way to the roof.

Her gaze turned upward to the sky to find the usual bright blue hidden behind a thick curtain of steel-gray clouds. Temari had felt the storm coming since the early morning and had been close to jumping for joy when the wind began to stir restlessly.

The kunoichi drew her battle fan and snapped it open with and expert twist of her arm. A quick jump and pulse of Futon chakra and the girl was sailing away atop the wind currents traveling over the village.

Temari was training in an exercise that had been developed by her idols, the Wind Maidens. Once they had been a part of Sunagakure's shinobi forces that had been just as feared as Kirigakure's Seven Swordsmen of the Mist and Konohagakure's Sannin. Now, just like the other special great warrior groups, they had fallen far from their golden age, but the young girl sought to change that. Her determination to bring the old legend back to its prime had won the interest of the weasel clan, who had been the first teachers of the Wind Maidens and now served to aid her in her battles.

The idea of the exercise was to be able to fly on her fan with only a minute amount of chakra usage. The trick was to use her chakra to move between the already existing currents of air and use them stay mobile. Too much chakra and you risk rocketing through the air, too little and you risk a sudden and tragic meeting with the hard, unforgiving ground beneath you.

As she sailed over the rooftops, Temari couldn't help but compare the cheerful atmosphere of the fire nation's shinobi village and the dismal one of her home. Her home was the only one she knew, yet in a matter of only a few months, she had begun to like Konohagakure and the kind nature of the people who dwell here. _'If only there was another way,' _she thought, but quickly buried it deep in the recesses of her mind.

Her moment of inattention cost the girl when a strong gust of wind threw her off balance. Temari fought to maintain control, but the wind was too strong and she was thrown, screaming as she fell towards the earth below.

Terror clutched the poor girl's heart and she closed her eyes, unable to face her fate...and that was when she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and press her against a body rippling with muscle. When her trip downwards suddenly halted, the Suna-nin pried her eyes open and met the gaze of a familiar-looking blue-eyed blond genin.

"You okay," asked the genin who's name escaped the addled mind of the newly rescued girl. Unable to form words the kunoichi simply nodded, and the boy sighed in what she hoped was relief. "Good. You're pretty crazy you know that? Who on earth would try to fly in a rainstorm?"

"I-it was training," Temari finally managed to say as he set her down on a nearby bench. When he stepped back she got her first good look at him. On his torso he only wore what appeared to be the sleeveless remains of his old orange and blue jumpsuit over an armored mesh shirt. He was also wearing a pair of black and red camouflage patterned cargo pants and black combat boots. His headband was tied around his left bicep and a dark orange haramki was tied around his waist. Three swords were tucked into the cloth on his right side, the hand on that side currently resting on the top sword.

"What kind of training were you doing? I mean yeah I was too but I wasn't trying to fly."

"Futon chakra control," she mumbled.

"Next time try something a bit less life threatening," he said. Temari looked up in time to see his hand move. Thinking he was planning on touching her, the girl involuntarily stiffened, but couldn't keep herself from jumping when his arm jerked up and caught something that had been flying at him from his right.

A flash of lightning tore through the dark clouds above, illuminating the street...and the large battle fan with her hat tied to the end now gripped in the boy's powerful hands. "I think this belongs to you, Temari-san," the swordsman said, offering her the fan, lips curled in a familiar-looking fox-like smile that jolted a memory from the exams. Tentatively she stood, taking back her fan and returning it to its place on her back.

"Thank you for saving my life, Uzumaki-san," she said, bowing politely to her savior.

The now identified Naruto Uzumaki chuckled and scratched the back of his head while his eyes closed and a large smile stretched across his face. "I'm just glad I got to you in time. If you hadn't come as close to the mountain as you did you wouldn't have been so lucky. Well, you're safe. That's the important part right?"

Temari nodded and turned to leave, but stopped when Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you're still shivering. I know a place we can go to grab a hot meal if you want."

"Is it close?"

"Yeah, it's just down the street actually, I'll show you." Naruto offered her a hand which she gratefully accepted and began to lead her through the rain They walked a short way down the street to find a small place with the name Ichiraku's written on the sign. It was a small restaurant, with really only a a single counter and a few seats, but it warm and out of the weather so Temari found it very satisfying.

Behind the counter stood a young woman, ladle in hand as she stirred the contents of a large pot from which wafted a scent that set the young kunoichi's stomach to rumbling the second she inhaled it. The woman looked up and smiled brightly. "Naruto-kun!" she called, setting her ladle down and walking over to greet the sword-wielding blond with a hug. "Welcome back. Are you here to practice some more of those delicious recipes?"

Naruto smiled as he returned the hug. Since his ultimate fail in flirting with Suigetsu, the young blond had been practicing his cooking (using either a couple clones or going himself) at the Ichiraku's restaurant. He had also begun to notice Ayame, a girl he had considered as a sisterly figure for so long, was actually quite attractive.

Her long brown hair was always tied back in a ponytail and she wore a white bandana over it to keep any loose strands from falling into the ramen she and her father would make. She almost always could be seen wearing a light blue apron over a white robe with the sleeves tied back to keep the sleeves from dipping into the broth.

She always remained cheerful unless someone insulted Naruto. Many a customer had been tossed out of the diner by an irate Ayame. Naruto could almost swear the girl was on fire when she'd done it...that woman had to have had some shinobi training before she was a ramen chef. There was absolutely no way anyone could be that strong without training.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Naruto answered his old friend's inquiry. "Actually, from what I smell you've been practicing with that stew I told you about."

Ayame nodded "I was making some for me and father but it doesn't smell as good as when you made it. You think you could help."

Temari was stunned by the chef's statement. If it smelled this good now, how good would it smell if Naruto actually prepared it. Fortunately, for the kunoichi and her stomach, Naruto smiled and moved behind the counter. In moments he was chopping vegetables with a kitchen knife, grinding herbs and mixing ingredients into the pot sitting on the stove. All the while Temari and Ayame watched as he moved with calm, calculated movements one would expect to see from a master painter or swordsman. The ramen chef had a pad and pencil in her hand,hurriedly writing down everything Naruto did.

When he was done, the blond genin pulled out three bowls and filled them with the sweet ambrosia within the pot. Once prepared he set a bowl in front of the two ladies and kept the last one for herself. "Enjoy."

Temari watched as Ayame was quick to try the eatable artwork they had been given and couldn't resist a chuckle when she moaned in ecstasy. _'It can't be that good,' _she thought and, compelled by curiosity she took a taste from her own plate. She used her chopsticks to grab a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth.

The second the meat touched her tongue, her mouth exploded with flavor and tears came to her eyes from the sheer joy that rang in her soul. Desperate to feel such a sensation again the girl ate another piece, and another. Soon there were no pieces left and she greedily slurped down the broth, wiped up any last traces with her finger and made sure not to waste any of the delicious food she swore had been blessed by Kami above.

"I guess you liked it," Naruto said, smirking as Temari's face turned bright red from embarrassment. "Would you like some more?"

He was answered by Temari's hand snapping up, bowl clutched in her grasp while using a kunoichi's greatest weapon, the **Puppy Eye no Jutsu.**

The young swordsman in training chuckled before taking the bowl, refilling it and handing it back to the eager girl.

An hour later, Naruto was dropping off a practically comatose Temari at her apartment. She was aware enough to make it the rest of the way from the front door. When she placed her key in the lock Naruto had turned to go, only for her to spin around and place her lips against his cheek. "Thanks for dinner, Uzumaki-kun," she whispered to her fellow blond, whose face had turned a shade of red a tomato would be envious of. Before he could answer the girl had slipped through the door and closed it, leaving him alone in the hall.

_**'Interesting. There seems to be smoke coming out of your ears.'**_

_'Shut up,' _Naruto mentally grumbled before turning to leave, only to stop when he felt killing intent focused on his back. He looked behind him to see Gaara of the Desert, Temari's teammate and youngest brother, sitting on a nearby window sill glaring at him.

"Can I help you," he asked the red-head, trying to be polite. Gaara remained silent, simply staring at the blond with hate-filled eyes. When no answer came Naruto turned to continue on his way home, only for Gaara to finally speak.

"You have stolen my prey twice, Naruto Uzumaki." Sand slipped from the opening in the gourd the genin always wore strapped to his back, twisting in the air like a serpent. "First with the taijutsu user. Then with that insect from Oto."

**Flashback (because I suck at paraphrasing so you'll get the long version) -**

Dosu Kinuta stood frozen in fear at the thing Gaara had become. A monster in every way, the creature leaped toward him, eager to finish him off. The genin of Otogakure was too frightened to even defend himself and could only watch as death drew near, until a blurred shape appeared in front of him and the sound of a powerful impact was heard.

Twice in one night, the genin was left stunned by what he had seen. Some blond had appeared out of nowhere and _kicked_ that abomination all the way back to the other end of the roof, exactly where he had leaped from.

Gaara, more stunned than hurt, paused to observe this new face and his eyes widened in surprise when he recognized who it was. **"So, you interfere again, Naruto Uzumaki?" **His voice was deeper and rougher, like he'd taken sandpaper and rubbed it against his vocal chords before talking.

Naruto ignored the transformed Gaara, simply turning and grabbing the back of Dosu's collar and jumping away to a nearby roof.

"**And now you run away? COWARD!"**

Naruto stopped and looked back over his shoulder. His straw hat cast a shadow over the top half of his face, but his cerulean eyes were clearly visible. "This is neither the time, nor the place for us to fight Gaara of the Desert. We will settle our problems in the Chunin Exams."

His part said, the blond jumped away, Dosu still trapped in his grip, headed for the Hokage's Mansion.

**Flashback End:**

Naruto turned to fully face the sand user, right hand resting on the handle of Wado Ichimonji (the sword Roronoa Zoro got from Kuina's father after she died.) Gaara stood from his perch in the window, his lips twisting into a sadistic, blood-thirsty grin. "You will prove my existence," he said and the sand moved forward, only to freeze when a powerful pressure crashed into him.

Naruto's straw hat covered his face in shadow again and his eyes were closed, but Gaara could see the whisker marks on his face become darker and thicker and his clothes began to stir in a breeze only they seemed to feel. The final surprise, was when Naruto opened his eyes.

In place of shining sapphire, two burning orbs of crimson were seen and the pressure seemed to increase. **"I told you we would settle this in the exams, Gaara of the Dessert. Has your tenant addled your brain so much that you have forgotten already?"**

Naruto vanished and appeared face-to-face with the red-haired genin. **"Be patient. You will have your battle soon enough."**

With that, Naruto turned and walked away and Gaara recalled his sand. _'Just wait Mother,' _he pleaded with the creature that shared his body. _'He will prove to be a delicious meal, one well worth waiting for.'_

**And Cut!**

**Hell yeah, tell me that was not good build-up! I think I might be halfway decent of a writer.**

**Now, please review and tell me what you think, hope you all enjoyed it and I'm eager to give you the next one. You'll have to wait though.**

**Till next time, yurei king signing out!**


	3. Chapter 3

**The time has come for a certain prodigy to have a humbleness inserted into his mindset. Will Naruto be successful, or will he actually lose...why am I asking when I could just show you?**

**Enjoy and tell me what you think.**

**On with the chapter:**

High in the seating area reserved for the attending Kage, the Sandaime Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi watched as the finalists of the Chunin Exams stood in a uniform line in the center of the arena.

His brow furrowed when he noticed two among the finalists from his own village happened to be absent. "I told Kakashi to be on time," the old man muttered to himself. "And where is Naruto?"

"Good morning Hokage-dono," a sultry voice said from the doorway leading into the booth and the man turned to find himself staring at what could only be the physical embodiment of a goddess. Slender and elegant, the woman had long, auburn hair that brushed against her ankles. A potion of her hair was tied in a top knot with a dark blue band and four bangs, the two shorter ones framing her left eye, a vibrant shade of green with a mischievous gleam and hid her right eye from view and the two longer bangs descended to cross just below her chin, resting atop her generous bust half-hidden by her blue dress.

The temporarily stunned kage blinked before shaking off his stupor and smiling kindly. "Good morning Mizukage-dono," he stood greeted his fellow village leader formally. "I trust your trip proved peaceful."

"It was a long journey, but I was interested in seeing how well my Suigetsu was doing so it was well worth it."

"It's a good thing we were the one's making this journey Hokage-dono," a smooth voice said from behind the young woman and the two looked to see a man dressed in the robes of the Kazekage with a mask covering the lower half of his face. "If these exams had been hosted in any other village it could have proven difficult for a man of your age. Perhaps you should consider selecting a new successor."

Sarutobi chuckled as all three chose to take their seats. "Fret not, I still have a few more years left in me."

"It's good to see you so energetic Hokage-dono," the Mizukage said as she turned her gaze to the arena. "But aren't there a few genin missing from our little group of combatants?"

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha," Hiruzen said, also turning to glance at the line of potential graduates. "I've received word from a former student of mine that Naruto will be on time but the Uchiha is another matter."

"Well what did you expect old man?" The three kages turned to find Jiraiya himself leaning against the balcony, arms crossed and smirking like he'd just learned an interesting secret. "Considering who's been teaching the kid you'd expect him to be late."

"Then where is your so-called student," the Kazekage interrupted any retort Hiruzen might have had. Instead of acting offended the Toad Sage just chuckled.

"Knowing him, he's probably napping somewhere nearby, kid's picked up a few interesting habits over the past two months."

"Well it would be a good idea for him to make his presence known," the Mizukage commented. "From what little Suigetsu has told me he should be quite an interesting young man."

Hiruzen sent a heated glare Jiraiya's way. He knew that grin on his students face and it would lead to nothing but trouble if the man let his perverted side take over. Luckily the hermit managed to get the signal and forcefully buried his urge to pull out his notebook...for now.

"What did Suigetsu say anyway?" the old Hokage asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Just that he was stronger than he let on...and that he was quite handsome." The auburn-haired woman smirked as she once again turned to stare at the group of chunin candidates.

**With The Candidates:**

"Where is he?" Suigetsu growled, her eyes wandering around the stands, searching for the blond enigma known as Naruto Uzumaki. "If he doesn't show up I'll kill the scrawny jerk."

"Will you quit complaining?" Shikamaru muttered. "It's way too early for someone to be so troublesome."

Suigetsu growled and looked like she wanted to pull her sword on the pineapple-haired genin, but she took a deep breath and let go of the handle.

Temari was silently letting her eyes wander as she patiently waited for the event to begin. _'Where is he,' _she thought, thinking of the boy that had saved her life and had asked for nothing in return.

Among the contestants, the most silent was Gaara. His hate-filled eyes were locked onto the kage booth, and his father. They had been told to expect the signal during Gaara's fight with the Uchiha, but the invasion was the furthest from the boy's thoughts. His only desire was to fight and destroy Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha had interested him at first, but when the blond had shown such bloodlust, such power with only a meager glance... _'I'm going to enjoy our battle...Naruto Uzumaki.'_

**In the stands with Sakura and Ino:**

"Not only Sasuke, but Naruto is missing too," Sakura growled, hands clinched into fists and resting in her lap. "That dead last better get here in time or I'm gonna hit him so hard his future grandchildren will feel it!"

Ino glanced at her friend, shocked by how bad she seemed to think of her teammate. She knew Naruto could be annoying at times but she also saw him take down Kiba so it was obvious he was getting better. She was about to comment on the pinkette's rude behavior, but a voice from behind her cut her off.

"Would you shut up already? I'm trying to sleep here." The girls turned to see a strange person in the seat behind them. He was wearing a black vest similar to the one worn by the jonin and chunin over a black armored mesh shirt, dark green cargo pants and black combat boots. Around his waist he wore a burnt orange sash with three swords resting on his right hip, bandages on his wrists and a straw hat with a Konoha headband attached to it rested on his face, hiding it in shadow. His hands were resting behind his head and he was leaning back like he'd just woken up from a nap. A senbon needle was clenched in his teeth like one would chew on a blade of grass.

The blonde girl garbed in purple narrowed her eyes, why did he seem so familiar? That was when she noticed the whisker marks on his cheeks. Only one person she knew had those marks. "Naruto?"

The stranger moved a hand pushed a finger against the brim of his hat, lifting it to reveal eyes of the deepest blue she had ever seen. "Hey Ino, what's up?"

Sakura beat her friend/rival to the punch and started to go on one of her rants. "NARUTO! What are you doing up here when you're supposed to be down in the arena?"

Naruto just sighed and sat up, adjusting his hat to sit back on his head and leave his face in clear view. "Calm down Sakura, I got here early so I decided to take a nap while I was waiting. Although," he said, looking around to find the stadium packed. "I might have slept a bit longer than I meant to."

"Just get down there," the girl grumbled, turning around and glaring in front of her while her teammate shrugged and stood up. He quietly walked up to the edge of the balcony, stepped up onto it and stepped off. Ino gasped and bolted to the edge to see if her comrade was alright, only to see him walking toward the line of competitors.

"Glad you finally decided to show up," Suigetsu said, grinning as the blond stepped up to take the place right next to her in line.

"I've been here for over an hour Sharktooth."

"What was that Fishcake?" the Kiri-genin growled, baring her pointed teeth and glaring with bloodlust in her eyes.

"You heard me."

"Hey you two, quiet down," the proctor, Genma said. "We've got a lot of important people here. You're representing your village today so look sharp and professional for once."

"You're so getting it if we fight," Suigetsu whispered, turning back to face the crowd.

Naruto just smirked. "Believe it when I see it Sharktooth."

The girl was about to say screw professional and hit the guy, but was stopped when Hiruzen stood up and addressed the crowd. "Welcome to the final part of the Chunin Exams," he yelled, voice magnified through chakra. "It is my pleasure to have you all here to witness the skills of the next generation. Please join me in congratulating our young combatants that are here today."

The crowd erupted into an onslaught of applause and cheers before eventually quieting down so the Hokage could continue. "Now, let the exams BEGIN!"

Genma turned around to address the genin lined up behind him while the crowd once more erupted with noise. "Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga. You two stay here while the rest go to the competitors' box. There have been a few changes to the fight schedule. The new one is posted on the wall of the box, be sure to look at it once you get up there, alright?"

The genin nodded and left, the first fighters remaining where they were. Once the arena was clear Genma stood between the two. "You two ready?"

Neji nodded, smirking as if he had already won. Naruto, he just yawned and gave the guy a thumb's up. Genma nodded and raised a hand up in the air. "The first match of the final stage of the Chunin Exams is about to start. Both fighters ready...Hajime!"

The proctor jumped back, expecting them to charge in and go at it, but they didn't move at all. They both just stood there, staring at each other. The spectators were quiet, the very tension between the two genin so thick it could be cut with a sword.

"What's the matter Uzumaki?" Neji asked, eyeing his opponent. "I thought you swore to make me pay for what I did to Hinata-_sama._"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he put both hands in his pockets and shifted his stance. "I was just wondering. For someone who claims that fate is all encompassing...you seem to be the one trying hardest to escape it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, didn't you once say the Hyuuga's branch family was created to _protect _the main house?"

"I did," the branch member arched an eyebrow. "Your point?"

"Well, what part of protecting the main house includes beating the hell out of the heiress and trying to kill her?"

Naruto smirked when he saw Neji scowl. "Poor Neji, trapped by fate and desperate to free himself. Acting like such a spoiled little kid, blaming the world for his troubles and unable to get over a past he can't change."

"ENOUGH!" Neji charged forward, index and middle fingers of his right hand stretched out and loaded with chakra. His blow was aimed for Naruto's heart, and had enough loaded chakra to make the organ explode.

Naruto shifted his stance to lean slightly to the right, the hand passing by harmlessly, not even grazing his left arm. Without the resistance of hitting his target, the boy overextended and left himself open for a counter attack. Naruto wasted no time and raised his left knee, slamming it right into Neji's stomach.

Gasping in pain, Neji never saw Naruto spin and slam his left heel into the back of his legs, tripping him and making him almost horizontal and without any contact with the ground. He didn't have to hover long, because Naruto slammed his heel into the boy's stomach, sending him crashing into the ground with enough force that he bounced, just in time for another kick to hit his ribs and send him skipping across the ground for a few yards.

Stunned silence filled the stadium. Naruto Uzumaki, the one all had bet would lose this confrontation, had just sent Neji Hyuga, rookie of the year for his class and member of a taijutsu oriented clan, flying with pure taijutsu.

Neji coughed and struggled to stand. He glared at his blond opponent, standing there with his hands in his pockets and smirking at him like he knew his deepest secrets while chewing on a senbon. "Come on Neji," he teased. "At least give me a challenge. I'm not even sweating here."

"Don't get cocky because you landed a lucky blow Uzumaki," the Hyuga growled, slipping easily into the familiar stance of the Hyuga clan. "I assure you this battle is far from over."

Naruto's smirk widened and he leaned forward. "Good. Looks like you'll be more fun than I thought!"

Both combatants charged and collided in a fierce dance of taijutsu. Neji trying desperately to land a blow while constantly moving to dodge Naruto's kicks. The blond had yet to remove his hands from his pockets and he was still smirking while Neji's scowl grew ever darker.

The dance ended when Naruto dropped low and aimed a sweeping kick and Neji's feet. The boy was forced to perform an agile back-flip to avoid the blow, but it cost him. Whenever one performs a back-flip in the middle of a battle, it leaves one with a small blind moment. For a Byakugan user, this problem was nullified, but being in the air still left them slightly vulnerable. A fact Naruto knew and took advantage of.

He pushed off with his left leg, jerking his body around he lashed out with his right leg, aimed right for his opponent's left temple. Naruto felt his foot impact and smirked, only to frown when he saw Neji hadn't moved, and he was smirking. The boy began to spin and was instantly surrounded in a dome of chakra that sent Naruto flying back.

Naruto jerked his legs, righting himself in mid-flight and landing on his feet. When he looked back up, it was to see Neji standing in the middle of a perfect circular depression in the ground. "I told you Uzumaki, this fight is far from over. You will fall before me, that is your destiny."

Naruto just chuckled. "Back up a sec there bud. Let's do a quick review. How many times have I kicked you? How many times have you hit me? I have yet to use any actual technique and if I'm not mistaken you just used one of your trump cards. Where is your advantage?"

"Destiny will always rule Uzumaki, and it has been decided you will lose to me."

"So you're the master of destiny? I'm sure that's the only way you'd know. What you do, blackmail a deity? How would that even work?"

"I have always been destined to succeed. It's the natural way of things."

"This coming from a guy who still can't get out from under the thumb of the main branch. Good message man."

"Don't speak of what you do not understand," Neji growled, and then his stance changed. "I suppose the only way to make you understand...is to show you how truly worthless your efforts to defeat me are. You've seen my Kaiten, that is my shield. Shall I show you my blade?"

Naruto frowned. Another trump card. Interesting.

"You are within range of my divination Naruto Uzumaki."

It was at this moment, that Naruto drew his right hand from his pocket and held it out in front of him. "I'm afraid your 'blade' will not be able to reach me Neji Hyuga. While I may be within range of your divination, you have stepped within my area of influence."

The air above his hand began to shift and contort until a translucent dome of was hovering there. Once it formed, Naruto spoke a single word. **"Room." **The dome instantly expanded until it covered thirty yards, with him at the center and Neji halfway to the edge. "Try and use that blade," he coaxed the arrogant genin. "I'll show you just how blunt it is."

Neji scowled at his skill being tossed aside so idly and he charged. Chakra infused fingers slammed into Naruto's chest. **"Two palms!" **The blows were instantly followed up by more. **"Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!" **Naruto was forced to step back from the powerful onslaught and Neji reared back for the final attack. "Die! **Eight Trigrams Sixty-four Palms!"**

The whole crowd watched as Naruto stumbled back, waiting for him to fall. Instead, all he did was smirk as he stood up straight. "I thought I said it wouldn't matter."

Neji couldn't believe it. "H-how?"

Naruto simply raised his hand to reveal four little peach-colored sticks. "You couldn't close my tenketsu, because you no longer have the right fingers."

Gasping in fright, the Hyuga looked down to find the index and middle fingers of each hand missing, but he could still feel them being clutched in the hands of the smirking blond.

"What have you done?"

"I told you Neji, this is my area of influence. I control everything in this circle. This is the operating room and I am the surgeon. I can cut you into little bitty pieces, in fact I'm aiming to cut at every, single joint in your body and do you know what the best part is? You'll live."

"W-what?" Neji felt his legs buckle beneath him as Naruto idly tossed his fingers up and caught them, that calm smirk still resting firmly on his face.

"Hinata made me promise not to kill you and I never go back on my word. Unfortunately, if I used any of the techniques I've learned lately other than this one, you would be killed in an instant. Thus I was forced to reveal my own trump card."

Naruto tossed the fingers into the air one last time...and they hovered there above his head. His right hand free once more, the blond pointed at Neji's right arm and it flew off in an instant. Neji felt terror grip his heart as Naruto's frown disappeared and was replaced with a vicious scowl.

"Hinata may be willing to forgive you, but she is a friend of mine and you tried to kill her. My friends are the most important thing in my life. They are my treasure, and if anyone ever threatens my treasure-" Naruto's hand shot out and Neji felt himself lifting into the air. "I make them pay."

Before the blond could torment the Hyuga any further, Genma appeared via shunshin at his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. "That's enough. Neji Hyuga is unable to defend himself, Naruto Uzumaki is the winner."

Naruto glared at the proctor for a moment and then raised his hand again. Genma moved to stop him but Naruto spoke first. "Relax, I'm just putting him back together." True to his word, Neji's floating body parts were reassembled and he was dropped unceremoniously on the ground and instantly was flocked by medic-nin.

The prodigy shrugged them off and moved to stand in front of the one to who defeated him so easily. They faced each other, neither one saying a word while Genma stood close by, ready to act should the loser turn violent. However, Neji's next move surprised them all, he bowed at the waist, presenting the back of his head and neck to Naruto.

"You could have killed me in an instant with that technique," he said. "Was it really because of a promise that you spared me?"

Naruto placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and pushed up, making him stand up straight. "When Hinata was asking me to spare you, she let it slip that you'd had it pretty rough. She didn't go into detail so I got curious and did a little digging. I found a few little secrets the Hyuga clan wouldn't like outsiders knowing and it gave me a little insight on your situation. While your methods were wrong, I can understand the urge to throw off the shackles others have placed on you."

The hand dropped and Naruto began to walk toward the stairs leading up to where the other potential chunin shinobi were gathered. "Grow stronger Neji, and learn what true strength is. I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure it out pretty easily." He stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. "After all, you were never a failure like me," he added before walking through and disappearing into the shadows within.

**Kage Booth:**

"So, that's Naruto Uzumaki," the Mizukage said, watching him walk away while the crowd erupted with applause, the people not from Konoha anyway. "He is quite an interesting young man."

"I must admit to being intrigued myself Hokage-dono," the Kazekage commented. "We have quite an interesting bunch this year. "My own children, the last loyal member of the Uchiha clan, a former student to Zabuza Momochi and the last known heir to Uzushiogakure and the Uzumaki clan."

Hiruzen nodded, a smile of grandfatherly pride on his face as he watched the child of his former successor leave the arena. Jiraiya chuckled and turned to walk back down the hallway leading away from the booth. _'You're training's paid off well kid,' _the Gama Sennin thought as he walked toward the medical area established for the competitors. _'And now it's time to fulfill my end of the bargain.'_

**Competitors' Booth:**

All eyes turned to the doorway as Naruto stepped through. With a simple smile and nod he greeted them before taking a seat and pulling a scroll out from his pocket. With a simple flick of the wrist the scroll opened to reveal a simple storage seal. A pulse of chakra later and the seal erupted in a small cloud of smoke, which dissipated, leaving what appeared to be samurai armor for a right arm.

Under the curious gaze of his fellow genin, Naruto pulled out a small brush and inkpot and began to draw seals along the gauntlet section of the armor. It wasn't until a hand touched his shoulder that he glanced behind him to see Shino standing there.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I was simply wishing to ask about the drastic change in your personality and skills Uzumaki-san," he answered. "As a former classmate of yours I must admit it is most intriguing."

Naruto nodded. "I'll answer three questions. One from you, one from Shikamaru...and one from Sharktooth over there."

"Shut up Fishcake," said Kiri-genin shouted, hand twitching toward the handle of her sword.

Her outburst was ignored by the others, all of them mostly curious about what the young heir to the Aburame clan would ask. Said heir was silent for a moment, no doubt he was carefully pondering what he was most curious about asking.

"Would you please describe what that technique you used to defeat Hyuga-san?"

Naruto smirked. "Figures you'd ask that." With calm movements he resealed the armor and returned the scroll to his pocket. Once his hands were empty he held up his hand and created the same translucent dome they had seen in his fight. "This technique is what I call **Room. **It creates an area and everything within the area is under my control. I can do to whatever is in that area the same thing I did to Neji."

Shino nodded, apparently satisfied with the answer and then turned to Shikamaru. The young heir to the Nara clan sighed and placed a hand under his chin. "A power like that is unbelievable strong, but it must have some sort of drawback, all techniques do. What's the consequence of using this power?"

Naruto smirked. "Leave it to a genius to pick the most dangerous question," he said. The other contestants were focused on him, wondering if he would truthfully answer the Nara. "The method I used to gain this power...made me completely vulnerable to water. Should my body become immersed in water I will lose my strength and be completely helpless."

The gathered genin stared at the blond in shock, one collective thought running through their head: _Why would he reveal such a vital weakness?_

"Wait a second," everyone turned to look at Suigetsu, who was currently glaring at our blond hero with enough intensity they thought he would burst into flames. "I saw you swimming in that creek when we first met! If you're so weak against water, how did you pull that off?"

"What you saw was a theory I was testing out," he answered. "I tried creating a layer of chakra just above my skin that keeps the water from coming into contact with me. Since I'm not frozen at the bottom of the creek and dead...I guess it worked pretty well."

Shikamaru nodded, it made sense. Naruto knew what his weakness was and had developed a way to counter it, but there was still something bothering the young tactical genius. "Still, it sounds like something that takes time to set up, why would you willingly reveal your biggest weakness?" When the source of his curiosity remained silent, Shikamaru decided to speculate. "The only reason I can think of would be...that your **'Room' **is not the only trick you've got hidden up your sleeve."

If it was possible, Naruto's smirk grew even wider, yet he remained silent and tipped his hat forward, seemingly falling asleep.

_'What happened to you,' _Shikamaru and Shino thought, but were called from their thoughts when Genma's voice rang through the air. "The match between Sasuke Uchiha and Gaara of the Desert has been postponed until the end of this round. Will Kankuro Sabaku and Shino Aburame come down to the arena?"

The puppet user cursed. He didn't want to give any of his secrets away before the invasion started. It was bad enough they knew what his weapon of choice of was. _'I don't have a choice,' _he thought, growling as he leaned over the edge and called down to the proctor. "I forfeit the match!"

Those words caused an angry shout to rise from the crowd. They had been deprived of their entertainment and were growing restless. Up in the booth, Shino was silently staring at the Suna-nin's back, a barely discernible buzzing coming from his hive the only sign of his agitation. It was only the feeling of a hand touching his shoulder that kept him from making a comment, he looked to see Naruto had stood and was the one holding him back. His smirk had stretched into a feral grin and his eyes were lit with excitement. "You'll get your chance soon Shino," he whispered. "Just be a little more patient."

Sensing a strange sense of anticipation beginning to fill him, the heir to the Aburame clan nodded and turned his attention back to the proctor, who was now calling for Shikamaru and Temari to come down. He could tell the Nara heir was considering following the example set by Kankuro. When he glanced back over his shoulder to Naruto, he saw the boy nod and knew he had something in mind.

"Forfeit, and I'll lock you in a room with Ino and your mother for twenty-four hours and tell them everything you've said about them that I've been able to witness."

With a new burst of energy, Shikamaru leaped from the balcony and landed on the ground, eyes narrowed in determination as Temari floated down, perched atop her fan and using her futon chakra to fly down to the arena floor.

Back with the genin, Naruto turned to look at Gaara. The two shared a brief moment, before the blond turned and sat down, propping his feet up on the railing. "Hope we get a good show out of this," he mumbled. The others nodded while he pulled out a new sealing scroll. From this one he unsealed a bottle full of a black liquid that hissed when he opened it. With a happy expression the blond placed the opening against his lips and took a hearty swig. _'That Franky guy was right,' _he thought. _'You just can't beat a cold cola.' _

**AND CUT!**

**Alright, what do y'all think?**

**Read and review please, as always my thanks to Kamen Rider for helping me create some form of order from the chaotic storm that is and always shall be my mind.**

**Hope you all are doing well,**

**yurei king signing out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here it is, the next chapter. Hope you all like it, as always please review and tell me what you think. Thanks for sticking with me this long.**

**Now, without further stalling, on with the chapter:**

Jiraiya walked down the hallway to the infirmary, his mind playing over his student's recent match. He had done well, but now it was time for him to take care of a problem he should have fixed a long time ago. He stepped into the small room to find Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Hyuga clan, kneeling before his his nephew and begging for forgiveness.

"I cannot bring Hizashi back," he said. "But I am trying to mend the rift between our families. Please, don't let your hatred consume you further."

Neji was stunned, he had never in his life imagined a moment like this and he had no idea what to say. Thankfully, the Gama Sennin chose that moment to make his presence known. "I may have a way to help make that rift a little smaller."

The two turned to him and watched as he pulled a slip of paper from his robes. "This is a modified version of the Caged Bird Seal your clan created," he explained, handing it to the clan head. "It will still destroy the Byakugan should a clan member die, but it will not allow one to control them through pain. In essence, I've taken away the cage and let the bird fly."

Hiashi looked at the seal, impressed with the man's work. Smiling softly he bowed to the seal master. "Thank you Jiraiya-sama," he said. "When can you begin applying the seal to the Branch Family?"

"As soon as the exams and the following celebrations are over," Jiraiya answered, turning to walk back to the arena. "I'd heal up if I were you kid," he called over his shoulder to Neji. "I have a feeling Naruto will want to have an all out taijutsu spar with you sometime."

Neji nodded and lay back on the bed he had been left lying on when the medics insisted he rest after his battle. Hiashi left as well, eager to see the rest of the exams, leaving the boy alone with his thoughts. The prodigy was thinking over Naruto's last words to him before he had walked away. _'At least you're not a failure like me.' _"What did you mean," he questioned out loud, and as sleep took him his resolve to learn the truth of Naruto Uzumaki was born.

**With Naruto:**

Naruto tilted his head back and finished the last drop of cola before resealing it in his scroll. The fight between Shikamaru and Temari had been interesting but if he knew one thing about his old classmate it was that he was lazy as hell and most likely going to forfeit once he'd given the crowd a good show.

"Uzumaki-san," Naruto looked up to see Shino standing next to him. "Would you tell me what it is you were drinking?"

"It's called cola," the blond answered. "It's a drink I recently found that tastes pretty good. You wanna try some?"

Shino nodded and Naruto unsealed another bottle, handing it to the heir of the Aburame clan. The boy popped the bottle open and brought it up to his lips. The moment the liquid touched his tongue he was hit with an explosion of flavor. Even his kikaichu were reacting to it as they flitted inside his stomach, sampling it and looking for any toxins. What they found was a source of nutrients they had never tasted before and were urging their host to give them more.

Naruto felt his eyebrow rise as he watched Shino literally gulp down the cola like it was nectar from the gods above. He'd found the recipe for it in Sanji's cookbook. It was more like a cross between a cookbook and a journal really. Each recipe came with a story that depicted the circumstances around him finding it. Since the carpenter, Franky, had been such an avid fan of the drink, the chef managed to find the ingredients necessary to make it and always made sure to have a spare barrel for the cyborg.

Now Naruto had managed to recreate the beverage and apparently he had just found his first customer to actually seem to become addicted to it. When the liquid was finished, Shino lowered the bottle and stared at it with a studious expression on the visible part of his face. Meaning pretty much his brow was furrowed because that's about all you could see.

"So...how is it?"

"It's good," the Aburame sat down, still staring at the bottle before simply offering it back to his fellow genin. The blond took it and put it back in his scroll.

"You know," Naruto said, ignoring the crowd as it began to complain about something but what he had no idea. "I have the recipe for that and I've been planning on making more so, if you want I can give you some after the exams."

Shino silently pondered the statement, his hive seeming to grow more active for a moment. "That would be, nice. Thank you."

Naruto shrugged, slipping his hat back while grinning. "No problem."

"Sasuke Uchiha has failed to arrive at the appointed time for his match!" The two genin were suddenly distracted by the chakra enhanced voice of the proctor in the arena. "He has been disqualified and Gaara Sabaku will proceed to the next round. Suigetsu Hozuki and Naruto Uzumaki please come to the arena to begin the second round."

"Guess that's my cue," Naruto said. Grinning broadly the blond jumped to his feet and walked up to the balcony.

"Hey blondie the doors over here," Suigetsu called.

Naruto looked over his shoulder at his opponent and his grin grew into a large smile. "So what," he asked. "I know a much faster way. Plus, where's the fun in using a door all the time?" He placed his a hand on the balcony. "See you at the bottom!"

With that joyous shout Naruto jumped over the edge and kicked off the wall, propelling himself over the stands. Everyone watched as he flipped, landing on his feet and grinning like a man who'd just won the lottery. Standing up he turned to look at the door just as the Kirigakure kunoichi ran out onto the arena floor. "What took you so long?"

Suigetsu glared at him but took her place across from him while Genma stood directly between them. "Alright, the match between Naruto Uzumaki of Konohagakure and Suigetsu Hozuki of Kirigakure is about to begin. Are both fighters ready?"

Suigetsu drew her sword and let the tip rest in the dirt, ready to rise with just a flick of the wrist. Her lips were curled in a bloodthirsty grin as she stared at the blond shinobi. "Bring it on."

Naruto's grin thinned into a confident smirk. The excitement seemed to radiate from him like heat. Once more his hands were in his pockets as he squared off with her. "I've been dieing for some fun, I'm all set proctor."

Genma nodded and raised his hand. "The first battle of the second round, Naruto Uzumaki vs. Suigetsu Hozuki, Hajime!"

The proctor jumped back, just in time as Suigetsu was charging. Her sword's tip dragged slightly in the ground, leaving a small dust cloud in her wake. With a fierce battle cry she lifted the blade in spun, aiming to cleave Naruto in half. Fortunately for the blond, he managed to hop back in time to avoid contact. "Not bad," he complimented. "You've got some decent speed on you."

The kunoichi smirked. "Don't think I'll be as easy to beat as that Neji guy," she said, lifting her sword and resting it on her shoulder. "I'm not dumb enough to let your mind games work on me."

Naruto chuckled. "No, I don't suppose you will." His left hand moved to his right rip and grabbed Wado Ichimonji. "I think I'll have to use one of my swords to make this match my win."

Suigetsu smirked and lifted her blade. "It'll take more than just one sword to take me down."

Naruto drew Ichimonji from his side and pointed it at his opponent. "Well, impress me and you may get to see all three in action."

Naruto stood still as Suigetsu charged, her cleaver sword already descending toward his head. With a quick flick of the wrist he knocked his own sword against the side of hers, throwing it off just enough for the flat side to brush against his arm and then stepped forward with a sharp thrust. The airborne kunoichi flipped her feet upward behind her, combined with the force of the falling blade it was just enough to pass over the Wado Ichimonji with the tip only grazing her thigh, cutting the fabric of her shorts but not the flesh underneath.

When the tip of the cleaver hit the ground Suigetsu slammed a hand into the pommel and spun her body, aiming for a kick to Naruto's temple. The blond tilted to the side, placing a hand on the ground and countering the kick with one of his own. Both combatants used the momentum behind their adversaries' kick and flipped away to gain some space.

They paused, both planning their next move and evaluating what they'd seen so far.

'He deflected my attack with such a subtle move,' Suigetsu thought. 'He must have done a lot of strength training to flick a blade like mine aside like that.'

'_**Aren't you glad that perv of a trainer convinced you to learn fighting with a single sword first?'**_Kurama commented.

_'Still, I haven't mastered many of the one-handed techniques, not to mention I can't cut steel yet,' _Naruto replied, his eyes never leaving the girl. _'I might have to resort to playing underhanded for this one.'_

'_**Heh, well you do have the perfect bait.' **_

Naruto sighed and stood up straight, sliding his sword back into its scabbard with a small _click._ "You're pretty good," he said, catching Suigetsu off guard. "You handle that sword quite skillfully."

"Thank you," the girl smiled, secretly happy for the compliment. "You're not too bad yourself. But why put away your sword, do you give up?"

Naruto chuckled, confusing both her and the audience. "No, in fact I'm planning to ask you to surrender."

This remark left the Kiri-kunoichi laughing. "H-how do you expect me to surrender?"

Naruto pulled out a scroll and tossed it to her. "Because if you do I'll give you what's in that scroll."

Instead of catching the scroll Suigetsu jumped back, not trusting his actions at all. Still, she was curious so she decided to be smart about it and drew a small water bottle from her belt and tossed it towards the scroll, making a handsign as soon as it left her hands. With a cry of **"Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu" **the water erupted from the bottle and formed a perfect copy of the young woman.

This clone picked the scroll up and unraveled it to reveal a single character written on the white paper, the kanji for _'sword'. _The clone looked over its shoulder to the original, when she nodded it placed a hand on the symbol and let a small pulse of its chakra enter the seal, releasing the contents within along with the traditional cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared every shinobi affiliated with Kirigakure gasped in shock. There, sitting in the clone's hands was none other than Kubikiribocho, the signature weapon of Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist.

Despite the urge to stay cautious the genin found she was unable to resist the desire to touch the blade and in a few quick strides found herself caressing the blade of her former master. "H-how did you-"

"I talked to my sensei about you after we met," Naruto cut her off. "He said you used to be Zabuza's student and when he told me about the tradition of handing down a blade from master to apprentice I sent a couple clones back to Nami to retrieve it. Now what do you say? Surrender and the blade will become yours."

Suigetsu smirked. "What makes you think you can take it back from me now that I have it?" she asked, grabbing the handle while her bunshin drew its own blade. Before either of them could move the sword erupted into a cloud of smoke, revealing a kage bunshin of Naruto that quickly kicked the mizu bunshin in the head while holding a kunai to the original's throat.

"That," was the sarcastic retort. Suigetsu glared at the smirking blond as he held up an arm to show her the same kanji from the scroll on the underside of his wrist. "I kept the original with me and sealed that clone in case you got any ideas. Now, surrender and Kirigakure will get one of its treasured blades back."

Suigetsu hesitated, afraid of embarrassing her village and finally turned her pleading gaze to the kage's booth. Mei met the look with her own gentle smile before nodding ever-so-slightly. The permission given, the kunoichi turned to Genma.

"Proctor, I yield."

The jonin nodded and addressed the audience. "Suigetsu of Kirigakure has admitted defeat. Naruto Uzumaki will continue to the semi-final round."

The clone dispelled and Naruto unsealed the real blade, letting Suigetsu tentatively accept it from his hands before turning to walk away. He hadn't even taken two steps before a hand clamped down on his shoulder, spun him around a pair of full lips were mashed against his own. Caught by surprise his mouth opened, allowing her to slip her tongue in before he could utter a sound.

A moment later Suigetsu detached herself and smirked at Naruto's dazed expression. "W-what was that for?"

"Staking my claim," she said, grabbing Kubikiribocho and hanging it where her original cleaver used to hang, the cleaver was sealed in the scroll Naruto's clone had been in by another Mizu Bunshin and was now in her shuriken pouch. Once she detached the handle so she could pass through the door leading up into the stands the Hozuki member put a little extra sway into her hips that the young Naruto could not help but watch.

Up in the kage booth Hiruzen was laughing so hard there were tears in his eyes while he watched Jiraiya scribbling into a small notepad so fast there was smoke coming from the paper. The Mizukage hid her grin behind a hand and tried hard not to laugh herself while the Kazekage remained as stoic as ever.

Eventually the elder kage managed to calm himself enough to speak again and turned to Mei. "I must say, your kunoichi is a rather interesting young woman Mizukae-dono."

Mei smiled and nodded. "Yes, she is rather impulsive, but she has also just shown her intelligence by making such a move now of all times." The two kages, gama sennin and their collective body guards turned a questioning glance to her and she decided to elaborate. "She was present as a future clan head during one of my meetings with the council in our village. The council stressed the fact that since our country has only recently managed to end our civil war it is imperative that we forge ties with our fellow villages. I'm afraid now that she's done that there is a possibility the remaining elders of her clan will suggest a political marriage between our villages."

"Why would they do that?" Hiruzen asked.

"The Hozuki clan has certain traditions just like every clan," Mei explained. "One such tradition involves marriage. In this tradition, a female member expresses her interest by doing exactly what Suigetsu just did. They only perform this act with someone who possesses enough skill and power to impress the female clan member."

"Naruto-kun's skill with the sword, a trait greatly respected by shinobi of Kirigakure due to the history of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist and how he managed to procure the last true tie between her and the man who trained her has been enough to catch her eye and now the elders that are present are most likely scheming about how they can effectively bind our villages in a firm treaty."

Hiruzen sighed. _'That boy will be the death of me,_' he thought, the image of all the paperwork he'd be suffering from after this. He was distracted from his grumbling by Genma calling out to the crowd. "Shino Aburame and Temari Sabaku, please report to the arena to begin your match."

Back with the competing genin, the Suna kunoichi hesitated but Kankuro quickly moved forward to whisper in her ear. "We can't let them get suspicious. You have to fight, just try and end it quickly okay?" Temari looked like she wanted to hit her brother with the fan on her back, only to take a deep breath and throw out in front of her, using her chakra and the air currents to ride down to the floor like she did before her match with Shikamaru.

The heir to the insect wielding Aburame clan chose to walk down the normal way. He had just walked into the dark space where a stairway led all the way to the ground when he noticed Naruto making his way to the top, yet another bottle in his hands, this one was a blue bottle with a lighter liquid in it. As the stepped past each other Naruto paused long enough to make a simple comment. "Can't wait to see what you can really do...as the true strongest at our time of graduation."

Shino's expression remained stoic, not a single change in his composure to hint he was surprised. "So you think I was the strongest?"

Naruto took a swig of his drink before answering, a confident smirk on his face. "Sasuke's strong, I won't doubt that. But he's also brash and arrogant, you're intelligent and you know how to come up with a good strategy. Heh, of course, I wasn't all that great either was I?" His lips briefly curled into a small grin before taking another swig, his expression turning serious once more. "I'm well aware of how bad I was but I intend to fix that. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get a crew of my own."

His part said the blond swordsman continued on his way up the steps, Shino still pondering his words. It was at the top that he paused one last time to call over his shoulder. "Give 'em a good show," was his simple comment before stepping off into the box to watch the up-and-coming match.

Shikamaru sighed from his spot in the booth. "You really are a troublesome guy to understand Naruto," the typical Nara complained as his old schoolmate sat down next to him, chuckling at his friend's words.

"Isn't that half the fun? Besides I thought you liked a challenge when it comes to the thinking side of things."

"Not if they become as much of a troublesome affair as you are, and what are you drinking this time?"

"It's a drink I found in an old cookbook. The chef said he'd gathered every recipe he could find and modified them to make them even better. I think he called this one...Rum. It's not as good as cola but it is a good drink."

"Then why not just drink your cola if it's so good?"

"I want to save the few bottles I have left of that stuff for after I win this thing, I gotta celebrate somehow." Naruto was about to finish of the bottle when he paused and set it down. "Well, it's time I took a quick bathroom break. Tell me what I miss okay?"

"You pick now of all times to go take a leak?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Naruto like he was insane before sighing again. "You really are a troublesome guy, fine make it fast I wanna take a nap sometime soon."

"Speaking of, why aren't you sitting with your team? I figured you'd be napping with them."

"You think I want to sit next that troublesome girl while she rants about me giving up? I'll pass thanks."

Naruto laughed and walked back out of the door he'd just entered from. He walked down the steps until he reached a hallway halfway down to the arena. Once his foot touched the tiled floor the easy-going grin dropped and was replaced by a serious frown. "Dosu, did you do what I asked?"

From the shadowed ceiling dropped the former Orochimaru supporter wrapped in bandages save for a single eye. "Yes Naruto-sama. The message was delivered to the Gama Sennin and he has begun making his move."

"Good. And your teammates, did you manage to save them as well?"

"Yes Naruto-sama," he answered, bowing to the one he now owed his allegiance to. "Thank you for your concern."

"It's fine, they are your team after all. Are they fit for battle?"

"Kin is, but Zaku's arms are still in bad shape from his fight with the Aburame."

"Okay, make sure he's hidden, I'll see what I can do to help him later. Have Kin help escort civilians to safety when the fighting starts and I want you to help get rid of any enemy shinobi you come across."

Dosu nodded at Naruto's words. For a moment he saw the short brat with a loud mouth he remembered from the first and second part of the exams and he couldn't help but compare him to the warrior standing in front of him. This new was calm and collected, yet he could sense an amazing level of energy bubbling below the surface, just waiting for the chance to burst free. Power tempered with a genuine care for his comrades.

The straw-hat wearing swordsman turned to Dosu and offered him the bottle, he accepted it just as cheers erupted from the crowd outside. "The main event is starting soon, we best be ready for the curtain call." He turned to walk back to the booth, hands in his pockets and a content smile on his face.

The bandaged shinobi slipped a finger into the bandages over his mouth and pulled them aside enough to reveal his pale lips and heavily scarred skin underneath and drank the last of the rum in the bottle. "Kami be with the one to make him truly angry," he muttered before disappearing in a shunshin, leaving the dark hall empty once more.

**And Cut!**

**Well that's all for now, hope you enjoyed it and I plan to update my other stories as soon as possible. **

**Till next time, yurei king signing out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**All right, first I wish to apologize for the long pause. My new laptop decidedly to go heels up and die so I had to dig up my old one and start all my new chapters all over again. I'm currently in the process of rewriting all my chapters so please be patient with me.**

**Anyway, we last left Naruto when he finished a meeting with Dosu during Shino and Temari's match. Let's see what happens next.**

**On with the chapter:**

Naruto returned to the competitor's box just as the crowds cheered. Curious he walked to the edge and saw Shino and Temari being led off the field, the Aburame heir walked with a slight limp and the kunoichi was practically carried by the trio of medic-nin surrounding her.

The blond glanced to the side to see Shikamaru's head drooping and gave him a soft nudge with his foot. "I'm guessing Shino won," he said, sitting next to the lazy shinobi with a soft grunt.

"Yeah," the Nara heir sighed, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Shino managed to maneuver around her and lured her in close to surround her with his bugs. Troublesome girl managed to work in a decent hit though, clocked him with that fan of hers right in his left side."

The boy moved to comment but a pair of pale slender arms wrapped around his neck and pulled his head back against the budding chest of a young woman and a _very _familiar voice whispered into his ear. "Found you."

"Hey there Suigetsu," he greeted the girl. "What took you so long?"

The sharp-toothed girl's cheeks puffed up in a playful pout. "I had to meet with my sensei," she answered. "She had a few words for me but she let me go since I got my old sensei's sword back and a good looking guy to go with it."

His smirk growing even wider the blond swordsman turned and slipped his own arms under Suigetsu's, lacing his fingers behind her back and pulling her slightly closer. "And what, my delicious Same-chan, makes you believe that I'm part of that package deal."

She retaliated with a coy smile before answering. "I already told you I staked my claim, I bet sensei is talking to Hokage-sama right now about a marriage contract between our villages."

Naruto frowned. "Now, I find you attractive Suigetsu but jumping into marriage like that is never a good idea."

Suigetsu snorted. "We're shinobi," she stated. "It's not like anything's guaranteed, plus it will probably take a while to finalize everything so we'll have plenty of time to…familiarize."

Her piece said the Kiri-kunoichi raised herself up slightly and brought her lips inching closer to Naruto's…only for Genma to interrupt their little moment.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara Sabaku, report to the arena for your match."

Suppressing irritated sighs the two relinquished their holds on each other. "Guess I'll have to take a rain check," he said, flashing her a quick smirk before nodding to Gaara. He turned to jump from the balcony but suddenly the blond spun around and gently pressed his lips against girl's soft cheek. "Hope you cheer for me," he whispered before turning away from the heavily blushing kunoichi and jumping from the balcony. With a flip the blond landed on both feet just as Gaara materialized in a miniature sand storm across from him. Eager grins adorning both of their faces the genins took their stances and prepared to fight.

Naruto drew all three of his swords; Wado Ichimonji clasped firmly between his teeth while his other two occupied his hands. The blond swordsman angled his body with his left side facing the sand user with both swords poised to strike.

Gaara spread his feet and bent his arms at the elbow, raising his hands to hover at waist level. The cork in his gourd flew off and the sand within flowed out and hovered in a wring around his waist, ready to move at the first twitch of direction to protect its master.

The jonin proctor stepped forward to stand between them. "Are both fighters ready?" They offered a simple nod in answer and the man raised a hand high in the air. "The final match of the semi-finals will now begin. Gaara Sabaku versus Naruto Uzumaki. Ready? Ha-"

Genma was unable to finish before a small cyclone appeared between the two genin, stirring up a cloud of dust and leaves. The wind died down quickly and the dust settled to reveal two shinobi standing back-to-back.

One was a tall man with snow-white hair pointed upwards in a spike with a headband engraved with the Konoha spiraled leaf wrapped around his forehead and angled to cover his left eye. He was dressed in the standard attire of most jonin of Konoha of a dark green flack jacket over a long-sleeved dark blue shirt and matching pants taped at the ankles, black sandals and black fingerless gloves with a metal plate sewn onto the back. The only unique piece of clothing was the dark blue mask covering the lower half of his face, coupling with his headband to leave only his right eye visible.

The other was a boy in his early teenage years with jet-black hair fashioned to look like a duck's rear end and equally dark eyes. He was dressed in a one-piece black jumpsuit with short sleeves and legs and a high collar that partially hid the lower half of his face but the arrogant smirk was clearly visible. Bandages were wrapped around his hands, forearms and shins with a length of black straps buckled over them.

They were Kakashi Hatake and Sasuke Uchiha, the final members of Team Seven.

Kakashi looked over to see the other current inhabitants of the arena staring at him and gave his patented eye-smile. "Hey there, I hope we're not too late."

Genma sighed and gave the duo his usual emotionless stare. "Unfortunately yes, Sasuke Uchiha has been disqualified for failure to obey orders. He has failed to arrive at his appointed place of duty at the stated time and as such will not be allowed to participate further in the Chunin Exams."

This, of course, did not sit well with the self-proclaimed avenger who saw fit to voice his opinion. "How dare you disqualify me?" he demanded. "I am an Uchiha, the member of an elite clan that was crucial in founding this village and I will be shown the proper respect."

The proctor's eyes narrowed and he glared at the spoiled boy currently glaring at him. "Listen well _genin_, what clan you come from doesn't mean anything if you're not able to follow orders or have the skill to back up those tough words. Failing to follow orders can get your team and yourself killed and demonstrates a serious lack of discipline. You're not ready to become a chunin so go sit in the stands and learn from this for next time."

Sasuke ground his teeth in frustration before his gaze settled on Naruto, who still hadn't moved from his ready stance. Recognizing his teammate even with his new look he smirked and sauntered over to the blond. "Oi dobe," he said. "Give me your spot in the battle. Someone like you doesn't need this like I do so just hand it over."

Naruto remained silent, ignoring the Uchiha and keeping an eye on Gaara, who had likewise kept his guard up. This served to only anger the scowling avenger further and elicited a more heated demand.

"Don't ignore me Naruto," he growled. "A clanless orphan like you doesn't need to move up in the ranks because it'd be pointless. You'll never be anything compared to elites like myself now let me face Gaara so I can prove how far I've come."

A heavy silence fell over the stadium as Sasuke finished his rant. Both Kakashi and Genma muttered curses while several jonin and chunin looked at the last loyal Uchiha with scorn.

In the kage booth Hiruzen turned to his former student, face set in a hardened scowl. "Jiraiya," he said, the order clear in his tone.

"I'll only step in if it looks like he's gonna kill him," the Gama Sennin said, all traces of the goofy pervert he often acted like were gone with a seasoned warrior standing in his place. "After that he deserves what's coming."

Mei's gaze moved from kage to student and back again, confusion obvious in her expression. "Hokage-dono," the she said, gaining the elder's attention. "I don't understand, what is it that has you both so tense?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Naruto has not had an easy childhood Mizukage-san," he answered. "With no clan to call his own and hardly any friends, such an insult as the ones employed by the young Sasuke will have a very negative result."

"Then why not step in?" the Kazekage asked.

The Hokage's brow furrowed and his frown deepened. "Because it is high time someone knocked the boy down a notch or two and this is the perfect opportunity for just that."

The Mizukage moved to comment but a sudden movement below caught her attention and she turned to watch, saving her question for later.

Naruto rose from his stance, flipping the swords in his hands to have the tips facing behind him and slipping them easily into their scabbards before doing the same with his third sword. His head was slightly bowed, his straw hat casting a shadow that hid his eyes from view.

"Gaara," his voice was low and calm as he spoke to the genin from Sunagakure. "Give me a minute. I'll be right back."

Gaara nodded and let his hands drop, the sand returning to his gourd. Naruto nodded in return and in a blur of movement dropped to the ground and slammed a foot into Sasuke's stomach. There was enough power behind Naruto's strike that Sasuke was launched across the stadium and slammed into the wall.

Coughing and clenching his stomach the arrogant Uchiha forced his body out of the crater his impact had made and landed on his feet. A whistling caught his attention and he looked up in time to see a clenched fist barreling towards his face and sending him even farther back into the wall.

Sasuke managed to open one eye through the pain and saw his teammate standing in front of him. The blond reached out with his right hand and wrapped the powerful fingers around the genin's throat. A quick jerk pulled him from the wall only to be slammed back into it again.

"Don't ever say that again," he growled, staring at Sasuke as he relaxed his grip, leaving him hanging limply and barely conscious. With a sigh the blond managed to reign in his anger and turned to walk away. He returned to his place across from Gaara and drew Wado Ichimonji once more. "Where were we?"

They were just about to take their former stances when a new sound interrupted them. A piercing shriek that sounded like a flock of birds all chirping at once. Both turned to look at the source to find Sasuke kneeling on the ground, swirling Sharingan glaring at Naruto with burning hatred and his left hand cupped, holding a ball of sparking electricity with arcs shooting all around him.

"DAMN YOU DOBE!" He roared, charging at his teammate like a rampaging bull. Said blond just sighed and turned fully to face him again. In the blink of an eye the two were face-to-face and the rage-blinded avenger brought his sparking hand forward in a straight jab. **"Chidori!"**

Naruto shifted his weight to the side, letting the attack pass him by with only mild burns from the straying electricity and brought his other hand up and curled it into a fist. "You fool."

The hand snapped forward, impacting cleanly with Sasuke's chest and stopping his forward momentum with such force his body actually seemed to fold around the outstretched limb. **"Mes." **When the single syllable left the blond's lips a small clear box launched out of Sasuke's back as said Uchiha fell to the ground panting heavily.

Naruto stepped around the fatigued boy and walked over to the box. Picking it up he turned and walked back to face his teammate, idly tossing it in the air and catching it with the same hand. Standing face-to-face again he held out the box right in front of Sasuke's face. "Do you know what this is?"

Sasuke looked up only to recoil in discuss, falling onto his backside and shuffling backwards. Locked inside the box resting calmly in Naruto's hand, was a human…beating…heart.

Naruto's look darkened as his lips stretched into a bloodthirsty smirk. "This is your heart Sasuke. What everyone sees my holding is the very organ that pumps your blood through that husk you call a body. I bet you see a perfectly healthy red heart, but do you know what I see?" Sasuke shook his head. "I see a black withered mess that's been drained of all humanity because of a spoiled brat and his inability to recognize how good he has it."

His grip tightened on the heart and Sasuke collapsed again, holding his chest while his expression was one of pure torture. "Grow up Sasuke. We're not kids anymore. The ass-kissing civilian council won't be able to help you out there so stop relying on them and grow up. Stop using your brother as an excuse and get the hell over yourself!"

Shouting his last words Naruto bolted forward and slammed the heart back into Sasuke's chest before chopping him in the back of the neck, rendering his world dark as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Kakashi-sensei, please get him off the arena so we can start our match."

Kakashi nodded and pulled Sasuke to his feet. "Good luck Naruto," he said to his student, eye-smiling and vanishing in a shunshin. Naruto offered a small wave before taking his place across from Gaara for the third, and hopefully final, time.

"Now then, are both fighters ready?" Genma asked. Both genin took their original stance and nodded. "Alright….Hajime!"

The moment the jonin leaped back the sand was on the move, seeking to entomb Naruto before he could react. A blur of movement later and Naruto leapt over the wave and charged across the ground toward his opponent. As he ran he crossed his arms, the swords in his hands nearly touching at the tip behind his back. **"Oni," **he said, bringing his swords slicing forwards just as he was about to pass the redhead. **"Giri!" **

The predictable shield of sand rose to thwart the attack, but the force behind the cut sliced through it evenly and the blades slammed into Gaara's body and sending him flying back. Naruto narrowed his eyes, watching the sand rise up to cushion the fall. _'That second layer of skin is no joke,' _he thought. _'It actually stopped Oni Giri from cutting his skin.'_

'_**Guess you have to stop holding back if you wanna deal any kind of real damage kit,' **_Kurama said.

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, calling on his chakra. To the observers a series of intricate kanji was appearing all over Naruto's arms, legs and torso, glowing with a faint blue light that was just barely visible. A moment later they shattered a small breeze shot away from the blonde's skin.

Gaara rose to his feet and prepared for the next assault. This time the sand began to shoot at Naruto like a rain of senbon needles. The swordsman-in-training danced about nimbly weaving between the needles with only the occasional one grazing against his clothes and cutting into his skin. Growing tired of the dance Naruto created a clone and used it as leverage to jump out of the way. As soon as his feet touched the ground he charged straight at Gaara again, flipping Kitetsu around in his right hand into a reverse grip.

'_This is it,' _he thought. _'If this doesn't work I'll have to use the secret technique.' _

'_**Don't hold back,' **_Kurama urged. _**'Break through and show him just how powerful my host is!'**_

"**Santoryu." **Three steps away. **"Tatsu." **Two steps, Gaara's sand rose to intercept but Naruto didn't hesitate. **"Maki."**

The moment Naruto reached Gaara he spun, the force behind the act creating a centrifugal force and a twister of sharp wind kicked up. The pure raw power of the technique tore through Gaara's sand like paper, slicing his skin as it lifted him from the ground and threw him back.

Naruto glanced at the prone figure of the Suna genin and then at his swords. _'I was still off,' _he thought, returning his swords to their place at his side. _'My right hand was too slow, it threw off my rhythm. I guess I still have a lot of training to do.'_

While Naruto was critiquing his performance, Gaara was struggling to his feet, numbly examining the first true injury he'd ever received in his shinobi career. A shaking hand rose and gently ran fingers across the wound. "What is this mother," he said, just loud enough for Naruto to hear. "It's warm and wet…no…this is…BLOOD! IT'S MY BLOOD!"

Following the sudden outburst from the normally quiet boy his sand rose to wrap around him. Layer on top of layer wrapped around him protectively and built itself into a smooth dome of heavily compacted sand. Soon Gaara was completely hidden within a perfectly circular orb of tightly compacted sand. Moments afterwards a small trickle of sand rose from the top and formed into an eyeball hovering just above the globe.

Naruto made to test this new defense but was distracted when small white feathers began to fall from the sky. His eyelids began to grow heavy and his body started to sag as if under a tremendous amount of weight.

'_**Don't even THINK about falling asleep now you idiot!' **_Kurama's enraged roar forced him to become instantly alert and he looked up behind him to see the audience slumping forward in their seats, all of them sleeping. An explosion in the kage booth drew his attention and he looked up in time to see Hiruzen standing on the roof, the Kazekage behind him and holding a kunai to his throat.

A low growl rumbled in his throat but he forced himself to look away and turned to face the orb Gaara was hiding in, only to find it had collapsed and his two siblings were standing on either side of him, glaring at the young swordsman with contempt and a hint of regret in Temari's eyes. She was bruised and her breathing was labored, her clothes dirty with the obvious signs of her recent match with Shino.

His frowned drooped lower when the girl's eyes met his own before quickly glancing away. Moving quickly the trio jumped to the wall, Kankuro throwing a kunai at the stone and blowing a hole through it with the attached explosive tag. Naruto made to follow but was stopped by Baki, the jonin sensei for the sand siblings.

"Sorry," he said. "But I can't let you follow them."

"That's too bad," Genma said, jumping between the two. "Because I'm not giving you a choice. Naruto, as your superior I order you to pursue and capture the three Suna genin."

Naruto nodded and bolted for the hole, Genma intercepting the kunai thrown at his back, and leaped into the buildings behind it. With a bite to his thumb and a couple of handsigns Gamakichi appeared and perched himself on the blonde's shoulders.

"**Hey Naruto," **the toad greeted.** "What's up?"**

"I need to track someone," he said, straight to business. "I know you've been practicing sensing chakra, can you detect anything nearby that's similar to the Kyuubi's?"

The toad nodded and began to sniff the air. A moment later he raised a webbed paw and pointed off toward the nearest section of the wall surrounding the village. **"That way."**

Naruto nodded and jumped up onto a rooftop. Racing across the upper level he jumped up to the top of a water tower and paused long enough to see what was happening around the village. His gaze fell on several confrontations between Konoha shinobi and shinobi form Sunagakure and Otogakure. A section of the wall was destroyed as a giant, three-headed serpent tore through the solid surface.

Ignoring the urge to help Naruto turned back to the trail and took off. He had a mission to fulfill. War had come to Konohagakure, and Naruto Uzumaki was on the hunt.

**And Cut!**

**So…how was it? Once again I apologize for the long wait but I'm back on track and I'll hopefully have the others done soon.**


End file.
